Americans Had More Babies Last Year After Historic Low in 2020

U.S. birth rates have been below population replacement levels since 2007, but since Americans had more children last year, those numbers have increased after seven years of decline.

Notably, the onset of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, which led to a major recession, started this trend of consistently below population replacement levels. Leading to a total decline of 28% over the past 14 years.

2020 saw a historic low national birth rate of just 3.8%. Marking last year as the lowest national birth rate since 1979.

2021 saw a 1% increase from the previous year, with a 6% drop rate for teenagers between the ages of 15-19.

According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, “Birth rates declined for women in age groups 15–24, [but] rose for women in age groups 25–49.”

As the U.S. population ages, and more people reach retirement age, the number of births needed to sustain the population will continue to decline. This is what is classified as “below replacement” birthrate levels.

There are several factors that contribute to this trend, including the declining number of women in their childbearing years, the increasing number of women who delay childbearing until later in life, the declining fertility rate among U.S. women, and the increasing number of women who choose not to have children.

FiveThirtyEight reported on the consequences of these trends, stating: “When the fertility rate falls below replacement level, the population grows older and shrinks, which can slow economic growth and strain government budgets.”

The outlet went on to say, “Today’s babies are tomorrow’s workers and taxpayers: They’ll not only staff the hospitals and nursing homes we’ll use in old age but also sustain the economy by funding our pensions when we retire, paying the taxes that finance Social Security, Medicare, and many other government programs we’ll rely on, and buying the homes and stocks we invested in to build our savings.”

These trends are unlikely to change in the near future, which means that the U.S. birth rate is likely to remain below what’s needed.

So what changed in 2021?

Per the data, it appears as though the ramifications on America’s birthrate from COVID-19 lockdowns and economic uncertainty waned ever so slightly.

Families delayed or forwent having children in 2020, but that started to shift in 2021 when the economy began to recover and some of the restrictions related to the pandemic were lifted.

It’s worth noting that America was not the only developed country to see fewer children born because of the pandemic. Some other countries like Italy offered incentives for childbirth, but none of those panned out to be successful.

Though not astronomical, a 1% increase is a step in the right direction. And a significant change in population growth for the first time in almost a decade.

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