Filipinos less optimistic about future..

This is from this site.
The combination of slowing economic growth increased cost of staple foods such as rice and soaring energy costs is no doubt causing increasing hardships for many filipinos. As I recall there is a much different public outlook in countries such as China. The Filipinos however share a gloomy outlook with Americans.


More Filipinos say quality of life has worsened
Ellalyn B. de VeraThe number of Filipinos who said that their personal quality of life worsened has increased further, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said.
Those surveyed added that their personal quality of life was better last year compared to at present, the SWS said.
The nationwide survey conducted last June 27-30 among 1,200 respondents showed that 62 percent (losers) of Filipinos surveyed experienced worsened personal quality of life, and only 12 percent (gainers) said it improved in the past 12 months
The SWS said the proportion of those who said that personal quality of life worsened consistently increased in the past four quarters, from 42 percent in September 2007, 45 percent in December 2007, 50 percent last March, and 62 percent last June.
The independent pollster added that the latest gainers-losers gap of -50 is the worst since SWS started its monitoring in April 1983.
Compared to the first quarter, the gainers-losers gap in the second quarter worsened by 22 points in the Balance Luzon from 23 to -45. The SWS said it is a new record-high gap for Balance Luzon.
In the Visayas, it fell by 19 points from -42 to -61, surpassing the previous record-high gap of -60 in October 2000.
It fell by 18 points in Mindanao, from -32 to -50, and by eight points in Metro Manila from -44 to 52.
Among socio-economic classes, the gainers-losers gap worsened by 35 points among the upper-middle classes ABC, from net -6 in March to -41 last June.
It fell by 18 points among the "masa" (masses) or Class D from -32 to -50. The SWS said the new figure for Class D is a record-high since it was first reported in July 1985.
In Class E, it dropped by 13 points from -40 to -53, a new record-high.
The SWS said 30 percent expected their personal quality of life to worsen, while 24 percent expected it to improve in the next 12 months.
SWS said that in the past five quarters, the proportion of personal pessimists has increased consistently from 11 percent in June 2007 to 30 percent in June 2008.
The number of personal optimists declined steadily since 32 percent in September 2007 to 24 percent at present.
The net personal optimism, or the difference of personal optimism over personal pessimism, went down from +22 in June 2007, +18 in September 2007, +14 in December 2007, +6 in March 2008, to -6 in June 2008.