The national Social Weather Survey of March 26-29, 2023 found 29% of adult Filipinos saying their quality-of-life was better than twelve months before (“Gainers”), 25% saying it got worse (termed by SWS as “Losers”), and 46% saying it was the same (“Unchanged”), compared to a year ago.
The resulting Net Gainers score is +5 (% Gainers minus % Losers, correctly rounded), classified by SWS as high (+1 to +9).
The March 2023 Net Gainer score was just 3 points below the high +8 in December 2022. However, it is still 13 points below the pre-pandemic level of very high +18 in December 2019.
The survey question on the respondents’ assessment of their change in quality of life in the past 12 months has been fielded 148 times since April 1983. The Net Gainer score was generally negative until 2015, when it rose to positive numbers until the drastic deterioration beginning with the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. It has since trended back upwards but still has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Very High in Balance Luzon, High in Mindanao and Metro Manila, Mediocre in the Visayas
Compared to December 2022, Net Gainers fell from very high to high in Metro Manila, down by 16 points from +18 to +2.
It also fell from very high to high in Mindanao, down by 4 points from +10 to +6.
It also fell from fair to mediocre in the Visayas, down by 10 points from -4 to -14.
It stayed very high in Balance Luzon, up by 2 points from +10 to +12.
SWS: 29% of Filipinos say quality-of-life was better than twelve months before
Excellent among college graduates, High among junior high school graduates and elementary graduates, Fair among non-elementary graduates
Compared to December 2022, Net Gainers rose from very high to excellent among college graduates, up by 2 points from +18 to +20.
It fell from very high to high among junior high school graduates, down by 6 points from +13 to +7.
It rose from fair to high among elementary graduates, up by 1 point from net zero to +1.
It stayed fair among non-elementary graduates, although down by 3 points from -2 to -5.
Net Gainers are roughly the same among Non-Hungry families and Hungry families
The March 2023 survey found that 9.8% of Filipino families, or an estimated 2.7 million, experienced involuntary hunger – being hungry and not having anything to eat – at least once in the past three months.
Net Gainers were at high levels among Non-Hungry families (+5), Overall Hungry families (+1), and Moderately Hungry families (+4). However, it was at a mediocre -18 among Severely Hungry families.
Compared to December 2022, the Net Gainers score fell from very high to high among the Non-Hungry families, down from +10 to +5. However, it rose from fair to high among Overall Hungry families, up from -7 to +1. It also rose from fair to high among Moderately Hungry families, up from -4 to +4. It rose from low to mediocre among Severely Hungry families, up from -21 to -18.
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