--- title: U.S. Birth Rate: Baby Boom and Bust Hurts the Economy description: A post-recession reluctance to have more kids combined with our changing culture may put a years-long dent in the economy canonical: https://time.com/4325072/low-birth-rate-hurts-economy/ author: Claire Howorth article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-10T19:57:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:26:16.924Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Americans Paused on Baby-Making and It'll Hurt the Economy og:description: A changing culture and a post-recession baby bust might create a bigger slowdown og:url: https://time.com/4325072/low-birth-rate-hurts-economy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01e0cb2ba055c2a4/6988929fab6d7737526a9a33/stroller.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4268 og:image:height: 2401 og:image:alt: 147007385 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Americans Paused on Baby-Making and It'll Hurt the Economy twitter:description: A changing culture and a post-recession baby bust might create a bigger slowdown twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01e0cb2ba055c2a4/6988929fab6d7737526a9a33/stroller.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Americans Hit Pause on Baby-Making and It's Going to Hurt the Economy  by [Claire Howorth](https://time.com/author/claire-howorth/)  ## Claire Howorth May 10, 2016 7:57 PM UTC  baby stroller on the sidewalk baby stroller on the sidewalkGetty Images  by [Claire Howorth](https://time.com/author/claire-howorth/)  ## Claire Howorth May 10, 2016 7:57 PM UTC Baby boom? Try baby bust. And the one that the U.S. experienced following the 2008 recession is going to have a “ripple effect” across the economy in the coming years, according to a story in the [_Wall Street Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/baby-lull-promises-growing-pains-for-economy-1462894211) Tuesday. Though the birth rate will likely be slightly up for 2015, from 3.99 million to 4 million, it’s not rebounding quickly from its pre-recession highs that had been the norm since the 1980s. (The projections come from a forecasting firm called [Demographic Intelligence](http://www.demographicintel.com), but we’ll know for sure in June.) --- > “” --- Fewer babies are born, so hospitals feel the pinch. Fewer baby clothes and toys are purchased, so retail takes a hit. Fewer kids need fewer bunk beds in the [smaller houses](http://tinyhouselistings.com) that their parents are buying for their smaller families. And so on. What’s more, though, is that the birth trend says a lot about women and progress. See what the _Journal_ wrote, emphasis ours: --- > “” --- Eventually, even years in the future, the effect could reduce funds the population contributes to, such as Social Security and Medicare. In the meantime, the U.S. could introduce some kind of baby stimulus—[Japan, Russia, Germany and Singapore might have some tips](http://time.com/4092915/one-child-china-aging/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4325072/low-birth-rate-hurts-economy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4325072/low-birth-rate-hurts-economy/"},"headline":"Americans Hit Pause on Baby-Making and It's Going to Hurt the Economy","datePublished":"2016-05-10T19:57:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:26:16.924Z","description":"A post-recession reluctance to have more kids combined with our changing culture may put a years-long dent in the economy","url":"https://time.com/4325072/low-birth-rate-hurts-economy/","keywords":["Economy","Parenting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01e0cb2ba055c2a4/6988929fab6d7737526a9a33/stroller.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Claire Howorth","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/claire-howorth/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01e0cb2ba055c2a4/6988929fab6d7737526a9a33/stroller.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"147007385","caption":"","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/economy/","name":"Economy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4325072/low-birth-rate-hurts-economy/","name":"Americans Hit Pause on Baby-Making and It's Going to Hurt the Economy"}}]}] ```