Nearly half of Filipinos are expecting their quality of life to improve in the next 12 months, according to the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results released on Sunday, Sept. 18.
The Second Quarter 2022 SWS survey was conducted from June 26 to 29 using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 Filipino adults nationwide.
The survey results showed that 46 percent of the respondents believed their quality of life will improve in the next 12 months, 40 percent said it will stay the same, and 4 percent thought it will worsen.
The remaining 11 percent did not give an answer.
SWS used the term "optimists" for those who believe their quality of life will improve, "pessimists" for those who think their quality of life will worsen, and "no change" for those who said it will stay the same.
The latest figures translate to a net personal optimism score of +42 (percentage of optimists minus percentage of pessimists), which is classified by SWS as "excellent."
“The June 2022 net personal optimism score is three points above the very high +39 in April 2022. It is similar to the excellent +42 in December 2021, and just two points below the pre-pandemic level of excellent +44 in December 2019,” SWS pointed out.
Net personal optimism rises in all areas except in Metro Manila
SWS attributed the three-point rise in the national net personal optimism score from April 2022 to June 2022 to the increases in Mindanao (+35 to +39), Balance Luzon—or Luzon outside Metro Manila (+47 to +50)—and the Visayas (+25 to +27), combined with a steady score in Metro Manila (+43).
Moreover, SWS said that compared to April 2022, net personal optimism stayed excellent among those who either graduated from college or took post-graduate studies, although down by four points from +50 to +46.
It also stayed excellent among those who either finished junior high school, had some vocational schooling, had some senior high school, finished senior high school, completed vocational school, or attended some college, hardly moving from +45 to +46.
Likewise, it remained very high among those who either finished elementary or had some high school education, up by nine points from +30 to +39.
However, it fell from very high to high among those who either had no formal education or some elementary education, down by 5 points from +33 to +28.