As the national unemployment rate dwindles, economic recovery seems to be a reality for more and more Americans. And while joblessness among Latinos is still higher than the national average, especially for the young, a recent survey found that young Latinos are optimistic about their future.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Univision and The Denver Post collaborated on a survey of 1,000 Latino adults of various ages and backgrounds from late September to early October. More than half of the adults surveyed said that their personal finances have gotten a lot or somewhat better in the last five years while nearly 40 percent said that they had gotten a lot or somewhat worse. The age group that reported the most gains (60 percent) were 18 to 39-year-olds while every other age group was near-evenly split between better and worse. The youngest age group of Latino adults also reported high homeownership at 40 percent.

Young Latinos were also the most optimistic about their future finances — more than 80 percent said that they expected more opportunities and improved finances to come, while other age groups were more likely to say their futures looked bleak. Similarly, 80 percent of young Latinos said that if they did fall on tough economic times, they could rely on an extra job or more work hours to foot their bills, expressing more confidence than any other age group in their ability to work their way out of financial distress.  

Despite their optimism and confidence, young Latinos were more concerned about jobs and the economy than the average U.S. adult and older generations — 23 percent said that jobs were a more concerning issue than immigration (20 percent), violence (7 percent) and education (10 percent).