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ccording to the latest Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index poll FAU Business and Economics Polling Initiative, the Hispanic community in the United States is fearful of the country’s financial future.

The index, which used to be conducted monthly but is now done quarterly, found that 57 percent of Hispanics expect bad times financially in the U.S. over the next five years.

According to BEPI Director Monica Escaleras, BEPI is based off the University of Michigan’s National Consumer Sentiment Index, a poll to determine consumer’s confidence in the economy.

“Driving this weakness in Hispanic consumer sentiment is pessimism about where the country as a whole is heading,” Escaleras said in a release.

The poll also found that President Donald Trump’s approval rating in the Hispanic community is at 39 percent, while 68 percent of Hispanics put that they are better off financially now than last year. Sixty percent put that they will be better off next year.

The national survey occurred between Jan. 1 and March 31. Five hundred Hispanics were surveyed with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent.

Benjamin Paley is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @benpaley92.