Some 42% of Filipinos see the economy improving this year, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found.

The survey, conducted from November 21 to 25 last year, saw optimists outnumbering pessimists, with only 18% saying that they expect the economy to worsen this year and 28% saying it would stay the same.

The resulting net economic optimism score is +24, which is considered “excellent” and is a recovery from the -9 in July and -5 in September.

Mindanao was the most optimistic, with a +36 economic optimism score, while Metro Manila got +31. Visayas reported a “mediocre” score of +4.

The poll, which involved 1,500 adults, also found that optimism over the economy was higher among those who said they were not poor.

Self-rated not-poor families registered a score of +28 and borderline poor families got +30, while self-rated poor families posted +18.

The Philippine economy sank into recession in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in millions of job losses and business closures. – Rappler.com