Hispanics were more optimistic about their finances and the economy due to the declining unemployment rate among Hispanics, according to a new survey from the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).
Hispanics were more optimistic about their finances and the economy due to the declining unemployment rate among Hispanics, according to a new survey from the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).
The Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index (HCSI) rose to 85.3 in the first quarter of the year, an increase from 76.3 in the fourth quarter of 2023. Overall, optimism increased in the five questions used to create the HCSI compared to fourth quarter of 2023.
59 percent of Hispanics said they are doing better financially than a year ago, up from 48 percent in the last quarter of 2023.
More Hispanics were optimistic about their finances in the coming year: 71 percent said they will be better off next year, compared to 68 percent in the last quarter of 2023. As for the short-term economic outlook, 54 percent of Hispanics expect this to happen in the country had good business conditions at the beginning of the year, an increase of 49 percent.
When it comes to the long-term economic outlook, 58 percent of Hispanics were optimistic, up from 49 percent in the previous quarter.
There was also a slight increase in large purchases: 41 percent of Hispanics think it's a good time to buy large household items, compared to 38 percent last quarter.
“Despite the recent rise in inflation, Hispanics are increasingly positive about their personal finances due to the declining unemployment rate among Hispanics,” said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., director of BEPI in the College of Business. “From January to March, the rate fell from 4.9 percent to 3.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
The survey was conducted between January 1 and March 31 and surveyed a sample of Hispanic adults. The error rate is +/-4.63 percentage points. Management was carried out both over landlines using IVR data collection and online data collection using Dynata. Responses for the entire sample were weighted to reflect the national distribution of the Hispanic population by education, gender, age, and income according to the most recent American Community Survey data. The results and full crosstabs can be found here.
-FAU-
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