Most Pinoys hopeful of improved lives

More Filipinos are hopeful that their personal quality of life will improve in the next 12 months, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results showed.

The third quarter nationwide survey conducted last September 23-27 with 1,500 respondents found 47 percent of Filipinos expecting their personal quality of life to improve in the next 12 months and 4 percent expect it to get worse.

This translates to a net personal optimism of “excellent” +42, which is two points above the +40 (44 percent hopeful, 4 percent not hopeful) in June 2017, classified by SWS also as “excellent.”

Net personal optimism had been excellent (+40 and above) since December 2015, except in March 2017 when it was a very high +36, SWS said.

It attributed the two-point rise in net personal optimism to increases in Mindanao, Metro Manila, and Visayas, combined with a slight decline in rest of Luzon, from June 2017 to September 2017.

Net personal optimism rose by one grade from very high to excellent in Mindanao, up by nine points from +37 in June 2017 to +46 in September 2017.

It stayed excellent in Metro Manila, up by six points from +46 in June to +52 in September.

It stayed very high in the Visayas, up by three points from +36 in June to +39 in September.

However, it fell by one grade from excellent to very high in rest of Luzon, down by three points from +42 in June to +39 in September.

Meanwhile, net personal optimism rose to excellent among the upper-tomiddle class ABC, remained excellent in the “masa” or class D, and very high in the poorest class E.

Among class ABC, it was up by 14 points from +39 in June 2017 to +53 in September 2017, while in class D, it increased by one point from +41 in June to +42 in September, and in class E, it rose by one point from +37 in June to +38 in September.

The survey also found 43 percent optimistic that the Philippine economy would get better next year, and 12 percent feeling it would deteriorate, which translates to a net optimism about the economy score of excellent +30.

This is three points above the +27 (39 percent hopeful, 12 percent not hopeful) in June 2017.

SWS pointed out that net optimism about the economy had been excellent (+20 and above) in all eight surveys since December 2015.

On the change in personal quality of life compared to 12 months ago, the September 2017 survey found that 39 percent said their lives improved (gainers) and 19 percent said they worsened (“losers”) for record-high net gainers score of +19.

This is two points above the net gainers score of +17 (37 percent gainers, 19 percent losers) in June 2017, and similar to the record-high +19 in September 2016.

The four-point rise in net optimism about the economy was due to increases in Mindanao and Metro Manila, combined with a steady score in rest of Luzon and a slight decline in the Visayas.

It stayed excellent in Mindanao, up by 17 points from +34 in June 2017 to +51 in September 2017, and in Metro Manila, up by three points from +27 in June to +30 in September.

It also remained excellent with +23 in rest of Luzon from June to September, and in the Visayas, although down by three points from +27 in June to +24 in September.

Net optimism about the economy stayed excellent in class ABC, up by 11 points from +22 in June 2017 to +33 in September 2017, and in class E, up by eight points from +25 in June to +32 in September.

It also stayed excellent in class D, up by three points from +27 in June to +30 in September.