PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THREE of 10 Filipinos said their quality of life had worsened in the past 12 months, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll.

In a statement posted on its website, SWS said 34% of adult Filipinos said they were worse off (losers), 32% said it got better (gainers), while another 34% said it was the same (unchanged).

This resulted in a net gainer score of -2% (gainers minus losers) in the April poll that SWS classified as fair.

The April net gainer score was 14 points up from the mediocre -16 in December, but still 20 points below the pre-pandemic level of the very high +18 in December 2019.

The poll question has been fielded 144 times since April 1983. The net gainer score was generally negative until 2015, when it rose to positive numbers until the coronavirus pandemic started, SWS said.

“It has since trended back upwards but still has not reached the positive range,” it added.

SWS interviewed 1,440 adults on April 19 to 27  for the poll, which had an error margin of ±2.6 points. — Norman P. Aquino