SWS poll: More Pinoys claim better lives in 2018

More Filipinos claimed they had better lives in the past year compared to the years before, according to a December Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, which also found increased optimism on the quality of life and Philippine economy in 2019.

Results of the survey, conducted from Dec. 16 to 19 last year, found 37 percent of the 1,440 respondents saying their lives had improved (gainers) over the past 12 months while 25 percent said their lives worsened (losers), resulting in a net gainers score (gainers minus losers) of “very high” +12.

The +12 score is a jump from the “fair” -2 score posted in September, when 28 percent said their lives improved and 30 percent said their lives worsened.

Nearly half or 45 percent were optimistic that their quality of life would improve in the next 12 months, as against 5 percent who said it would get worse, for an “excellent” net optimism score (optimists minus pessimists) of plus +40, an upgrade from the “high” +27 (36 percent optimists, 9 percent pessimist) in September.

Optimistic on economy

The percentage of those who feel optimistic about the economy also rose, from 31 percent to 43 percent, while the pessimists declined from 20 percent to 11 percent.

The resulting net economic optimists score (economic optimists minus economic pessimists) of “excellent” +32 in December is a 21-point increase from the “very high” +11 in September.

The survey used face-to-face interviews and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Between September and December, net gainers, net personal optimists and net economic optimists increased across all areas and classes.

Net gainers score ranged from “high” to “very high” in all areas, rising from net zero to +18  in Mindanao, from -4 to +14 in Metro Manila, from -3 to +13 in Balance Luzon and from net zero to +3 in the Visayas.

By class, net gainers scores were either “very high” or “excellent,” increasing the most among class E, from -14 to +12; followed by those in class ABC, from -1 to +23; and class D, from net zero to +11.

By area and class, net personal optimism ranged from “very high” to “excellent.”

Quality of life

It increased from +19 to +44 in Metro Manila, from +30 to +44 in Mindanao, from +25 to +34 in the Visayas and from +34 to +40 in Balance Luzon.

Across classes, net optimism on their own quality of life went up from +17 to +46 among class ABC, from +27 to +41 among class D and from +29 to +35 among class E.

Net economic optimism was “excellent” across all areas and classes.—INQUIRER RESEARCH