33% Expect Philippine Economy to Improve in a Year: SWS Survey

MANILA, Philippines — Three in every 10 Filipinos expect the country’s economy to improve within the next 12 months, according to a new survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS). The poll, conducted from June 20 to 29, found that 33 percent of the respondents expect the country’s economy to improve within a year. Thirty-two percent said it will stay the same, while 24 percent said it will worsen. The remaining 11 percent did not give an answer. The latest survey resulted in a “net economic optimism” score of +10, a 24-point improvement from a low -14 (25 percent optimists, 39 percent pessimists) obtained in a similar survey in March. The “net economic optimism” is the rounded off difference between those who said their economy will improve and those who said that it will worsen in the next 12 months. The latest survey showed that net economic optimism improved across all areas, although it remained at negative level among those in Metro Manila. It was highest among those in balance Luzon at +18 (from -13), followed by those in the Visayas at +6 (from -16), Mindanao at +4 (from -8) and Metro Manila at -6 (from -30). The SWS survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus three percent.