33% of Filipinos say quality of life improved from last year: SWS

FILE: Passengers queue up for bus and jeepney rides along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City on Monday (Jan. 23, 2023). Commuters are constantly reminded to board or get off public utility vehicles only at designated loading and unloading bays. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

MANILA – More Filipinos believed that their lives improved over the past 12 months, according to a recent poll conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The survey, conducted from June 28 to July 1, 2023, showed that 33 percent of adult Filipinos said their quality of life was better, while 22 percent said their lives got worse.

SWS said this resulted in a net gainer score of +11, which was computed by subtracting the percentage of losers from gainers and was classified as “very high”.

The SWS classified gainers as those who believed their lives improved, while losers were classified as those who believed their lives worsened.

The June 2023 net gainer score was 6 points above the high +5 in March 2023, the pollster noted.

“However, it is still 7 points below the pre-pandemic level of very high +18 in December 2019,” the SWS said.

According to the same poll, 35 percent of adult Filipinos said quality of life remained “unchanged” compared to a year ago.

In Metro Manila, net gainers rose from “high” to “very high”, up by 16 points from +2 in March 2023 to +18 in June 2023.

The net gainer score stayed “very high” in Balance Luzon, hardly moving from +12 to +13.

The net gainer score in Mindanao fell by 4 points from +6 to +2, but still stayed in the “high” classification.

The net gainer score rose sharply from “mediocre” to “very high” in the Visayas, up by 24 points from -14 to +10.

The survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults aged 18 years old and above nationwide — 600 in Balance Luzon, and 300 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The sampling error margins are ±2.5 percent for national percentages, ±4.0 percent in Balance Luzon, and ±5.7 percent each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.