The Social Weather Survey of December 8-11, 2023, the most recent quarterly national survey finalized by SWS, found 40% of adult Filipinos saying the Philippine Economy will improve (termed by SWS as “Economic Optimists”), 44% saying it will stay the same (“Neutral”), and 10% saying it will worsen (“Economic Pessimists”) in the next 12 months. The remaining 5% did not give an answer.
The resulting Net Economic Optimism score (% Economic Optimists minus % Economic Pessimists) is +30, classified by SWS as very high (+30 to +39).
The latest Net Economic Optimism score is 5 points below the very high +35 in September 2023. It has been at very high levels since March 2023, following a decline from the excellent levels from December 2021 to December 2022. It used to be at mediocre levels of -9 in July 2020 and -5 in September 2020 and a high +24 in November 2020, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Net Economic Optimism is different from Net Personal Optimism, which refers to expectations in personal quality of life.
As of December 2023, Net Economic Optimism was highest in Metro Manila (very high +36), followed by Mindanao (very high +32), Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila) (very high +30), and the Visayas (high +25).
Compared to September 2023, Net Economic Optimism fell from excellent to very high in Balance Luzon, down by 16 points from +46.
It also fell from excellent to very high in Mindanao, down by 9 points from +41.
SWS: 40% of adult Filipinos say Economy will improve in next 12 months
However, it rose from fair to very high in Metro Manila, up by 20 points from +16.
It rose from fair to high in the Visayas, up by 10 points from +15.
Net Economic Optimism was highest among those who either graduated from college or took post-graduate studies (very high +35), followed by those who either finished junior high school, had some vocational schooling, had some senior high school, finished senior high school, completed vocational school, or attended some college (or junior high school graduates) (very high +34), those who either finished elementary or had some high school education (or elementary graduates) (high +24), and those who either had no formal education or some elementary education (or non-elementary graduates) (high +22).
Compared to September 2023, Net Economic Optimism fell from excellent to high among elementary graduates, down by 18 points from +42.
It fell from very high to high among non-elementary graduates, down by 9 points from +31.
However, it rose from high to very high among college graduates, up by 9 points from +26.
It stayed at a very high +34 among junior high school graduates.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.