Hispanics felt more optimistic about their financial situations and the economic outlook in the United States heading into the new year, according to a new poll from the Business & Economic Polling Initiative (BEPI) at Florida Atlantic University.
Hispanics felt more optimistic about their financial situations and the economic outlook in the United States heading into the new year, according to a new poll from the Business & Economic Polling Initiative (BEPI) at Florida Atlantic University.
The fourth quarter Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index (HCSI) increased to 89.3 in the last quarter of 2024, up from the third quarter 2024 score of 69.3. All questions used to generate the HCSI increased compared to the prior quarter; the index reached the same level as the first quarter of 2024.
“Hispanics were very optimistic about their personal finances and the economy this past quarter, supported by steady employment levels and strong business growth,” said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., director of BEPI in FAU’s College of Business.
More Hispanics (55%) felt they were better off during the fourth quarter of 2024 than the prior year, up from 38% in the third quarter of 2024.
For their future financial situations, 70% of Hispanics felt they would be better off financially in the next year, up from 61% the prior quarter.
Both the short-run and long-run economic outlook improved among Hispanics in the fourth quarter of 2024. A majority (61%) felt the country would experience good business conditions in the next year, up from 45%. Meanwhile, 58% said that the country would have a good economic outlook in the next five years, an increase from 39% in the third quarter of 2024.
In other news, 52% of Hispanics believe it is a good time to purchase a big-ticket item, compared to 46% in the third quarter.
“With significant representation in industries like construction and service sectors, coupled with increasing entrepreneurship, many Hispanic-Latino business owners mirror the optimism of the consumers in our index and anticipate revenue growth and expansion in 2025,” Escaleras said. "Other reports show that Latin business owners are increasingly confident in the year ahead with plans to expand their businesses and see more revenue."
The survey was conducted between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024, polling a sample of Hispanic adults. The margin of error is +/-4.2 percentage points. It was administered using both landlines via IVR data collection and online data collection using Rep data. Responses for the entire sample were weighted to reflect the national distribution of the Hispanic population by education, gender, age and income according to latest American Community Survey data. The results and full cross-tabulations are here.
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