Pinoy optimism still high – SWS

MANILA, Philippines – More Filipinos expect their personal quality of life to improve in the next 12 months, according to the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The survey results, published in the newspaper BusinessWorld yesterday, said 42 percent of Filipinos expect their personal quality of life to improve in the next 12 months, compared to the seven percent who claimed otherwise.

SWS said the new net personal optimism score (the difference between optimists and pessimists) rose to 35 from 32 in September and just a point below the record +36 posted a month before President Aquino assumed office. All three scores are classified as “very high” by SWS.

The survey research institution said that since September 2009, net personal optimism has remained above +20 (“high”).

The SWS poll, conducted from Nov. 27-30, showed that personal optimism was “very high” in all areas and socioeconomic classes.

It improved to a “very high” +38 in balance Luzon from a “high” +29 three months earlier. It stayed at a “very high” +41 and +32, respectively, in the National Capital Region and in Mindanao, and remained “very high” in the Visayas.

SWS said personal optimism went up by 28 points among the ABC class to +52, while it rose by six points among the E class (to +32) and by one point among class D (to +35).

Asked to look back a year, 30 percent of the respondents said their lives had worsened (losers) while 25 percent said it was better (gainers), for a “fair” net gainers and losers score of -5, barely changed from the -2 in the previous quarter.

On the subject of the economy as a whole, 39 percent said they expected it to improve while eight percent claimed it would worsen, putting the net economic optimism score at +30, similar to the +29 recorded three months earlier.

The record high is +39, which was also hit in June last year. Prior to that, net economic optimism was in double-digit negatives in 30 of 46 surveys from September 1998.

Net economic optimism was also “very high” in all areas and classes, the SWS said.

It rose by five points to +31 in the balance Luzon and three points to +41 in Metro Manila but was down by two points to +30 in Mindanao and four points to +23 in Visayas.

By class, net economic optimism increased 24 points to +47 among the class ABC; three points to +32 among the class E; and was “barely changed” (+28 from +30) among the class D or masa.

Meanwhile, the net gainers-losers score fell five points but stayed “high” at +4 in Mindanao; lost six to a “mediocre” -14 in the Visayas; and dropped by 11 to a “fair” -7 in Metro Manila. It remained “fair” (-5 from -7) in balance Luzon.

It rose to a “very high” +10 among the ABC class (a 31-point gain) and the SWS said a double-digit positive had not been achieved in over 14 years. SWS said net gainers-losers was recorded at +12 in June 1997.

The net gainers-losers score improved by nine points to a “fair” -3 among class E, while it dropped to “fair” among class D.

The SWS survey used 1,200 adults for the face-to-face interviews nationwide.

Error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national and six percentage points for area percentages were applied in the survey. –Helen Flores (The Philippine Star)