The national Social Weather Survey of November 21-25, 2020, found 44% of adult Filipinos saying their quality-of-life will improve (termed by SWS as “Optimists”), 36% saying it will stay the same (“No Change”), and 9% saying it will worsen (“Pessimists”), in the next 12 months.
The resulting Net Personal Optimism score is +35 (% Optimists minus % Pessimists), classified by SWS as very high (+30 to +39).
The November 2020 Net Personal Optimism score is 33 points up from the mediocre +2 in September 2020. This is a continued recovery from historic lows of -19 in May 2020 and -10 in July 2020.
Net Personal Optimism rebounds in all areas
The 33-point recovery in the national net personal optimism score is due to increases in all areas from September 2020: 48 points in Mindanao, 39 points in the Visayas, 27 points in Balance Luzon, and 25 points in Metro Manila.
In November 2020, net personal optimism is higher in Mindanao (excellent +40) and Balance Luzon (very high +39) than in Metro Manila (very high +30) and the Visayas (high +25).
Net Personal Optimism is higher among Gainers than Losers
The November 2020 survey found 62% of adult Filipinos saying their personal quality-of-life got worse (termed by SWS as “Losers”), 24% saying it was the same (“Unchanged”), and 14% saying it got better (“Gainers”), compared to a year ago (“Fourth Quarter 2020 Social Weather Survey: 62% of adult Filipinos got worse off in the past 12 months,” 21 December 2020, www.sws.org.ph).
Net personal optimism is higher among Gainers (excellent +52) than among Losers (very high +32) and the Unchanged (very high +35).
In all surveys in 2019 and 2020, Net Personal Optimism has been higher among Gainers than among Losers and the Unchanged. Meanwhile, the scores for the Unchanged have been slightly higher than among the Losers except in May, July, and September 2020 when the gap widened (all 3 points came from SWS’s mobile phone surveys).
Net Personal Optimism is ‘very high’ among both the Self-Rated Poor and Not Poor
Among adults who belong to families who consider themselves as ‘Not Poor’, net personal optimism is very high +36. Similarly, the score is very high among the self-rated poor at +31. Meanwhile, among those at the borderline, the score is excellent +42.
In November 2020, 48% of Filipino families were Self-Rated Poor, 36% were Borderline, and 16% were Not Poor (“Fourth Quarter 2020 Social Weather Survey: Only 16% of Filipino families say they are not Poor; 48% feel Poor, 36% feel Borderline Poor,” 14 December 2020, www.sws.org.ph).
SWS: 44% of adult Filipinos believe life will improve in 2021
Net Personal Optimism is ‘very high’ across education groups
Net Personal Optimism is very high +36 among those who completed at least elementary education, and very high +30 among those with only some elementary education.
All scores increased from September 2020: 50 points among elementary graduates, 36 points among non-elementary graduates, 32 points among junior high school graduates, and 19 points among college graduates.
In the past, the score has been higher among college and junior high school graduates than among elementary and non-elementary graduates. (Note: Only observations from March 2019 to November 2020 are shown in the chart and table. Additional cross-tabulations are needed to complete the series beginning April 1984.)
Hope for the New Year varies by expected, not past, trend in quality of life
The November 2020 survey found 91% of adult Filipinos entering the New Year ‘with hope’ and 7% ‘with fear’(“Fourth Quarter 2020 Social Weather Survey: 91% of Filipinos enter Ney Year with Hope; lowest since 2009,” 29 December 2020, www.sws.org.ph).
By expected change in quality-of-life, New Year hope was higher among Optimists (95%) and among those who expect their quality-of-life to be the same (90%) than among Pessimists (81%).
Meanwhile, by change in quality-of-life in the last 12 months, New Year hope hardly varied among Gainers (92%), Unchanged (91%), and Losers (91%).