The U.S. fertility rate has dropped to an all-time record low, causing concern among some demographic experts who fear that a declining population could spell trouble for society down the road.
According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, the U.S. fertility rate is now 62 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 for 2016, a 1 percent drop from the previous year, The Washington Post reported.
The teen birth rate dropped more than 9 percent in the same time period, CNN reported, while the birth rates for women in their 30s and 40s increased, but not enough to make overall fertility rates increase. The teen birth rate was 20.3 births per 1000 female teens, and has fallen 67 percent since 1991.
Some of the decrease can be attributed to women choosing different lifestyles that cause them to have fewer children as well as increased contraceptive use among teens, the Post reported. Other experts attribute the decline to millennials taking longer to get established in the stagnant economy of recent years. Whether millennials settle down and start families in large numbers in the next few years will probably determine whether normal levels of fertility return or the decline continues.
According to The Washington Post, Brookings Institution demographer William Frey said the U.S. fertility rate is still high relative to other developed countries suhc as Italy and Germany, and the U.S. continues to have more births than deaths, as well as a growing labor force.
He expects that as the economy improves, people will have more children again.
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