MANILA - Four out of five adult Filipinos said their quality of life worsened in the past 12 months, according to a new Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

The survey showed 82 percent of Filipinos said their quality of life got worse in the past year. They were classified by SWS as "losers."

The poll also showed around 11 percent of Filipinos said their quality of life were unchanged, while only 6 percent said their lives got better.

The -76 score in September 2020, considered by SWS as "catastropic", is among the worst trends in SWS survey history.

It earlier recorded a -78 in May and -72 in July amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Aside from this year, the only other time the score reached catastrophic level was in June 2008, during rice and oil price hikes, SWS said.

• SWS: 79% of Filipinos say life worsened in past 12 months

The quality of life is also "catastrophic" or a score of -50 and below across the country. It is highest in the Visayas with a net score of -80, followed by Metro Manila at -76, Balance Luzon at -75 and Mindanao at -74.

Compared to the July 2020 figures, Mindanao experienced the biggest drop in scores at 9 points.

The sentiment of worse quality of life was highest among families who experienced involuntary hunger, who lost their jobs and junior high school graduates.

• 36 percent of working-age Pinoys pessimistic on quality of life in next 12 months: SWS

The SWS said the poll was conducted on September 17 to 20 using mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviews of 1,249 adult Filipinos nationwide.

The survey had sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao, and ±5 percent for Balance Luzon.

The Philippine economy shrank a record 16.5 percent in the second quarter plunging the country into recession, following one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world to curb the spread of COVID-19.

• Philippines falls into recession as second quarter GDP dives 16.5 percent

An independent survey also showed adult unemployment hitting a record 45.5 percent in July.

• SWS: Adult joblessness hits record 45.5 percent, 27.3 million unemployed

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