Fewer Filipinos expect their lives and the country’s economy to improve in the next 12 months, according to an independent pollster.
A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted September 27 to 30 and released Saturday showed 46 percent of the respondents are optimistic the quality of life will improve next year, while five percent expect it to get worse. This yielded a net score of +41, which is down by a point from the second quarter record, however, still classified by the SWS as “excellent.”
Despite slower inflation, fewer Filipinos are also expecting the economy to improve in the following months. Some 41 percent of the respondent project economic growth while 12 percent say it will slow down. This accounts for a net score of +28, down five points from +33 in June.
According to SWS, the net gainers (optimism) score has been historically higher in relation to higher educational group. In the third quarter, the net gainers scores were +22 among college graduates, +17 among high school graduates, +2 among elementary graduates, and -1 among non-elementary graduates.
The net gainers score has also been higher among the "non-poor" sector, only Metro Manila saw an increase in its number of optimists.
Meanwhile, the number of Filipinos who said their lives improved over the past year decreased from the second quarter data. Thirty six percent of the respondents believe they had better lives in the past 12 months, while 25 percent said otherwise. This yielded a net score of +11, two points down from +13 in June.
The nationwide poll was conducted through face-to-face interviews. It included a sample of 1,800 adults.
The survey had a ±2.3 percent error margin, ±4 percent each for Balance Luzon and Mindanao, and ±6 each for Metro Manila and Visayas.
Source: CNNPhilippines
