Vol. XXI, No. 7, July-August 2021
Births continue their accelerating decline
The latest birth results are in from the National Center for Health Statistics. There were far fewer births in the last six months of 2020 than in the first six months of 2019.
Births have been on the decline since 2007. During the first six months of 2019, births declined 2%. That increased to a 6% decline in the first six months of 2020. There was an increase in declines every month. The largest monthly 2019-2020 decline was in December at -8%. That is the first month that an impact from the pandemic would have shown up. Babies conceived the end of March and early April at the beginning of the pandemic and lockdowns would have been born in December. Declines for July through November would not reflect the impact of the pandemic but rather a continued acceleration in the decline of the birth rate.
These are the states with the most significant decline in births during the second half of 2020 versus 2019:
- -11% in New Mexico
- -9% in New York
- -8% in California
- -8% in Hawaii
- -8% in West Virginia
Here's the decline for all the states:
