The declining American birth rate could actually be good for the economy

The CDC found the US birth rate fell by 4% in 2020. It could usher in a new era of change for the economy, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The birth rate dropped during the pandemic, as is typical during economic recessions. Photo: Boston Globe/Contributor/Getty Images

By Hillary Hoffower

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dropped a new report that revealed the US birth rate fell by 4%, the sharpest single-year decline in nearly 50 years and the lowest number of births since 1979.

The news seemingly sent America — and American media — into shock. One demographer deemed the trend a “crisis” in an interview with CBS, while The New York Times explored how the pandemic may be fast-forwarding American decline, and another demographer told CNN the baby bust could have the opposite effect of the 1950s baby boom.

I wrote about the baby bust a few weeks prior to the latest data, tracing the pandemic’s influence on the decision to have kids and how it could either slow down the economy in the long term or result in a delayed baby boom.

But here’s the thing: A declining birth rate isn’t necessarily bad news. It’s both the continuation of a decades-long trend and a symbol of progress in gender equity. And while it signals some economic distress, it may also represent the start of a solution to America’s…