Millennials stopped having kids during the recession – and they still haven't started again

william kate george

(Reuters) You won't see as many young families like Will and Kate's in America.

Millennials stopped having babies during the recession, and the birth rate hasn't picked up since.

Birth rates for 20-something American women dropped more than 15 percent from 2007-2012, The Wall Street Journal's Neil Shah reports, citing data from the CDC.

Millennials in their 20s gave birth to fewer than one child per woman, which means their families could wind up smaller than Gen Xers.

This isn't necessarily due to tough economic times – it could also have to do with the drop in immigration that stemmed from the recession. Recent immigrants tend to have higher birth rates, the Journal reported.

The problem is that now, even though the economy is picking up, birth rates are remaining depressed.

The Journal cited a Princeton University study that had some pretty bleak findings: not only are women in their 20s putting off child birth, many of them are not going to give birth at all.

If that's the case, the US may start to look a lot more like its Japanese and European friends.

Head to The Wall Street Journal for the full story »

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