LATINOMICS – The Hispanic Market Index.

Garcia Research and Santiago ROI launched LATINOMICS, The Hispanic Market Index, an ongoing tracking service to monitor consumer sentiment, economic activity, political perspectives and other issues of the day within the burgeoning US Hispanic community. The initial wave, a national representative survey of roughly 600 interviews was conducted, 400 by phone and 200 online, in December 2009 with a margin of error of + or – 4%.

Latinos close 2009 with the economy and jobs as the most important issue yet give overwhelming support to health care reform.

Health Care reform ranked as a distant fourth most important issue to Latinos compared to the top issue of the Economy & Jobs. Health Care was ranked as the top issue by only 1 in 10 Latinos versus the Economy & Jobs ranked as the top concern by 3 in 10. Ahead of Health Care reform also were Immigration reform which ranked as the top issue for 2 in 10 and Education which was rated as the most important issue by 15% of Latinos. 

However, Health Care reform emerges as the second most important issue of concern after the Economy & Jobs among those registered to vote (17% versus 35%). Similarly, Health Care reform becomes the second issue of concern among those who voted in the last presidential elections. Nearly 85% of those who voted in the last Presidential elections support Health Care reform as compared to 12% who do not support it and 4% who are not sure yet.

“Undoubtedly, many Latino families are facing the brunt of the recession, thus, the Economy & Jobs are the primary issues of concern to all Latinos at the end of 2009,” says Carlos Santiago, President and Chief Strategist of Santiago ROI. “Nevertheless, Health Care Reform is of major concern to Latinos who voted in the last presidential election and regardless of party affiliation, they want to see Health Care reform passed.”   

Support for Health Care reform is overwhelming regardless of whether Latinos are registered Democrat or Republican and Independent, 9 in 10 Democrats provide support as well as 7 in 10 Republicans and Independents. Of those in support of Health Care reform, 2 in 3 approve of President Obama’s performance in office thus far, 12% disapprove his performance and 21% are not sure whether they approve of him or not.    

The only subgroup in which Health Care reform becomes tied with the Economy & Jobs as the top issue is among Latinos between 50 and 65 years of age. Interestingly, only 9% of this subgroup is not in support of Health Care reform. Conversely, among the least likely to support Health Care reform are Latinos between 40 and 49 years in age, those residing in the Southeast and non-Mexican origin Hispanics.

Among those providing the strongest support with a 9 to 10 margin are: younger Latinos below 40 years of age; Spanish dominants; low and middle income households earning less than forty thousand annually; those living in the West, Midwest and Northeast; and Hispanics of Mexican origin.

Higher income Hispanics earning over forty thousand annually and English-dominant Latinos are somewhat more likely to constitute those “not sure”.

Half of Latinos say that their families are making less income than last year, one in three is making the same, and only 1 in 7 are making more. These tough economic times appear to be hitting the hardest on older consumers, the Spanish dominant, lower income groups and persons in the West and of Mexican origin.  

Given the data above, it is not surprising that six in ten Latinos say that they will spend less on the Holidays this year compared to two in ten planning to spend about the same and only one in ten planning to spend more than last year. Those less than 30 years old are most likely to plan to spend more or the same while those over 40 years old are most likely to plan to spend less. Again, the West appears to be in a tighter situation than other US regions. Interestingly, even though the incomes of younger Latinos do not appear to have dropped as much as their older counterparts, they have still learned to economize, with about half saying they have economized somewhat in recent months.

“Hispanics have been hit hard by the Great Recession … ” says Carlos Garcia, President of Garcia Research. “The lowest income, Mexican-origin, mono-lingual Spanish segment are seeing the worst of it. Still, this community has strong family support systems to help them weather such situations. Perhaps due to that support structure, they are largely getting by and optimistic for the future.”

In terms of outlook, Latinos appear to be optimistic in general. Fully 6 in 10 are making do – 4 in 10 Latinos say things aren’t easy but they are managing to get by and about 1 in 10 say things are improving a little plus another 1 in 10 say things are going very well. Younger Latinos tend to be most positive while those over 40 years of age and those making less than $20K are most concerned over finances. Not surprisingly, this group of modest annual income is also the most likely group to say that they have seen more people leaving the US recently than people coming into the US.

Despite all this hardship, 6 in 10 approve the performance of President Obama – 3 strongly, 3 somewhat – compared to the national average of 5 in 10. Only 1 in 7 disapprove (the rest are not sure which may suggest a reluctance to offer an opinion). Among registered voters, 7 in 10 Democrats approve the performance of Democrats in the Congress and Senate versus only two in ten Independents and Republicans. Dissatisfaction is greater among registered Republicans and Independents, among which only 3 in 10 approve of Republicans in the Congress and Senate versus only 2 in 10 democrats approving.

In addition, among those registered to vote, 45% believe the country is going in the right direction versus 34% who believe the US is going in the wrong direction and 21% not being sure. The group most disenchanted with the direction of the country skews English dominant, pertaining to Latinos residing in the West and Southwest regions, where the economic conditions have hit hardest.