Despite the perceived hardships of the economy – Hispanics are more hopeful.

A non-partisan study conducted pro bono by Encuesta, Inc. in November 2009 compared the economic perceptions of Hispanics and non-Hispanics.

The findings show that even though Hispanics and non-Hispanics agree that the U.S. economy is going in the wrong direction (52% vs. 51%, respectively), Hispanics look at the future through a more positive lens compared to non-Hispanics: a total of 56% of non-Hispanics expect to be better off economically or financially a year from now vs. 46% of non-Hispanics. The same is true for expectations about employment situation in the next six months: while 35% of Hispanics think that there will be more jobs in the next six months than there are now, only 28% of non-Hispanics think so.

“These findings document the amazing resiliency and hopeful nature of U.S. Hispanics and the important role they will play in the economic turnaround” said Martin G. Cerda, President of Encuesta, Inc.

The study also finds that:

– Hispanics and non-Hispanics are divided on whether things in the United States in general are going in the right or wrong direction. While a total of 47% of Hispanics and 41% of non-Hispanics believe that things are going in the right direction, a similar proportion believes that things are going in the wrong direction (40% of Hispanics and 44% of non-Hispanics).

– A majority of Hispanics and non-Hispanics agree on the employment situation. A total of 73% of Hispanics and 74% of non-Hispanics think that jobs are hard to get.

– Hispanic and non-Hispanics rate their current personal economic or financial situation similarly. On a 10-point scale, where 1 means “poor” and 10 means “excellent”, on average, Hispanics rate their situation as 5.2 and non-Hispanics as 5.4.

– Both Hispanics and non-Hispanics are optimistic about business conditions in the next six months. A total of 42% of Hispanics and 42% of non-Hispanics think that business conditions will improve in the next six months.

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