SWS: 37% of adult Filipinos say their quality of life improved in last 12 months

MANILA, Philippines – Thirty seven percent of adult Filipinos said their quality of life has improved in the last 12 months, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Based on the survey conducted between September 14 to 23, a total of 24% of the respondents said their lives got worse, while 38% said it stayed the same.

The poll was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults who were 18 years old and above and came from the following areas: 600 in Balance Luzon, and then 300 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. Meanwhile, the SWS added that the sampling margin of error was ±2.5% for the national percentage.

“The 2-point decline in the nationwide Net Gainer score between June 2024 and September 2024 was due to decreases in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, and the Visayas, combined with an increase in Mindanao,” the poll firm explained.

The SWS refers to those who said their lives have improved as “gainers,” while “losers” for the opposite. According to the poll firm, the September 2024 gainers were five points below the pre-pandemic numbers. It was also the 154th time that the SWS had asked Filipinos about their assessment on the quality of their lives.

“The Net Gainer score was generally negative until 2015 when it rose to positive numbers until the sharp decline beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It has since trended back upwards but has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels,” the SWS said.

The results of SWS survey this month were a bit different compared to its similar survey released last month. In the said survey, 39% of the respondent said their lived have improved, 23% of the respondents said their quality of life got worse, while 37% said their lives remained the same.

In focus

In terms of key areas, the net gainers scored the highest in Balance Luzon at +22, then followed by Mindanao at +13, Metro Manila at +6, and the Visayas at -2.

However, the net gainers in Metro Manila fell from very high to high or from +16 to +6, and then in the Visayas from high to fair or from +1 to -2. Meanwhile, the net gainers stayed excellent in Balance Luzon from +26 to +22, while the number rose from high to very high in Mindanao or from +7 to +13.

Among the families who experienced hunger, the net gainers were very high with +19 among non-hungry families, high +1 among moderately hungry families, and low -22 among severely hungry families.

Lastly, in terms of educational attainment, net gainers fell from excellent to very high among college graduates from +21 to +11.

Meanwhile, net gainers stayed very high among elementary graduates from +14 to +10, stayed fair among non-elementary graduates or from net zero to -4, and then rose from very high to excellent among junior high school graduates or from +19 to 20. – Rappler.com