SWS: Only 30 percent of Pinoys say quality of life improved

MANILA, Philippines — Personal quality of life improved last year for only one in three Filipinos, according to a recent survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

Results of the Dec. 8 to 11 survey released on Friday found that 30 percent of the respondents said their quality of life improved over the past 12 months.

Some 25 percent said it got worse, while 45 percent said it was the same as a year ago.

Compared to a similar survey in October last year, those who said their personal quality of life improved over the past year increased by two points from 28 percent.

Meanwhile, those who said it got worse decreased from 30 percent.

The latest SWS survey resulted in a “net gainers” score of +5, the rounded-off difference of those who said their lives improved from those who said their lives worsened. This was up seven points from the -2 obtained in October, but below the +11 in June.

The “net gainers” score was +18 in December 2019, the last survey conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across areas, the “net gainers” score was highest among those in Metro Manila at +16 (from -9), followed by those in the rest of Luzon at +6 (from +3), the Visayas at +4 (from -7) and Mindanao at -3 (from -4).

In terms of educational attainment, it was highest among college graduates at +25 (from +9), followed by high school graduates and non-elementary graduates at +5 (from +3 and -15, respectively) and elementary graduates at -4 (from -10).

The survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus 2.8 percent for national percentages.