SWS: 37% of Pinoys report better quality of life, 24% worse in September 2024

Around 37% of adult Filipinos said their quality of life was better than last year but 24% said it was worse, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) third quarter survey.

The same survey also showed that 38% of Filipinos said their quality of life stayed the same this year from last.

Based on these results, the SWS said the “Net Gainer score” or the difference between the percentages of gainers and losers was at +13.

“The September 2024 Net Gainer score was 2 points down from high +15 in June 2024. It was 5 points below the very high +18 in December 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic,” the SWS said.

According to the SWS, the highest Net Gainer score was in Balance Luzon at “excellent” +22, followed by Mindanao at “very high” +13, Metro Manila at “high” +6, and the Visayas at “fair” -2.

The two-point decline in the nationwide Net Gainer score between June 2024 and September 2024 was due to the drops in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, and the Visayas, combined with an increase in Mindanao.

‘Hungry’ families

Around 22.9% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger – or being hungry and not having anything to eat – at least once in the past three months, SWS said.

Net Gainers score fell among “hungry” families, it added.

“Net Gainers were very high +19 among Non-Hungry families, compared to high +1 among Moderately Hungry families and low -22 among Severely Hungry families,” the SWS said.

“Compared to June 2024, the Net Gainers score stayed very high among the Non-Hungry families, hardly moving from +18 to +19. However, it fell from very high to high among Moderately Hungry families, down by 13 points from +12 to +1, while it fell from mediocre to low among Severely Hungry families, down by 5 points from -17 to -22,” the SWS said.

Conducted from September 14 to 23, 2024, the Third Quarter 2024 Social Weather Survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults nationwide: 600 in Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), and 300 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The sampling error margins are ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4.0% for Balance Luzon, and ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The SWS survey question on the change in personal quality-of-life from last year to the present is directed to the probability respondent. 

Meanwhile, the SWS survey questions on the family’s experience of Hunger and Self-Rated Poverty are directed to household heads. 

The exact phrasing of the survey questions was:

• Comparing your quality of life these days to how it was 12 months ago, would you say that your quality of life is BETTER NOW THAN BEFORE, SAME AS BEFORE, or WORSE NOW THAN BEFORE?
• In the last three months, did it happen even once that your family experienced hunger and not have anything to eat? (YES, NO)
• IF EXPERIENCED HUNGER: Did it happen ONLY ONCE, A FEW TIMES, OFTEN, or ALWAYS? (Moderate Hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months, while Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the last three months)
• Where would you place your family in this card? (POOR, NOT POOR)

These items are non-commissioned and are included on the research group’s initiative and released as a public service, according to the SWS. —KBK, GMA Integrated News