More Pinoys feeling Optimistic

More Filipinos are optimistic today than at any time since June 2010 and March 1987, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

The SWS survey asked 1,200 adults nationwide on how they feel about their lives now and how their quality of life might be in the next 12 months.

Personal optimism among Filipinos posted a record-high.

Some 42 percent of Filipinos expect their quality of life to improve in the next 12 months. Net personal optimism score was at +37 (42 percent optimists minus five percent pessimists), which the SWS said is “very high”.

The previous record high was +36 recorded in June 2010, the month President Aquino began his term. Last December, net personal optimism was at +35 (41 percent optimists minus 6 percent pessimists).

The SWS considers personal optimism scores of at least +30 as “very high,” +20 to +29 as “high,” +10 to +19 (historical median and mode) as “fair,” +1 to +9 as “mediocre,” zero to -9 as “low,” and -10 and below as “very low.”

The survey also asked the respondents on whether or not their lives improved over the past 12 months and on how they feel about the country's economy.

The first-quarter survey showed 32 percent felt their lives improved (gainers) while 26 percent said they worsened (losers) in the last 12 months. This meant a “high” +6 net gainers score, or the difference between gainers and losers.

SWS said this was the highest in 28 years since March 1987, when it was a record-high very high +11. It is also a increase of seven points from the “fair” -1 (29 percent gainers minus 30 percent losers) in December 2014.

SWS first did the “quality of life” survey in April 1984 when Ferdinand Marcos was president.

The optimism most Filipinos feel appears to come only from their perceptions about the economy.  According to the same survey, 27 percent of respondents were optimistic the economy would improve while 20 percent felt it would deteriorate, or a "high" +6 net optimism about the economy.

Optimism about the economy was 10 points lower and one grade down from the “very high” +16 (31 percent optimistic minus 15 percent pessimistic about the economy) posted in December 2014. -end-

Image by philstar.com