The Vital Statistics report on 2018 Births shows the baby bust continues.

Key Numbers

The provisional number of births for the United States in 2018 was 3,788,235, down 2% from 2017 and the lowest number of births in 32 years.

The general fertility rate was 59.0 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44, down 2% from 2017 and another record low for the United States.

The total fertility rate declined 2% to 1,728.0 births per 1,000 women in 2018, another record low for the nation.

Birth rates declined for nearly all age groups of women under 35, but rose for women in their late 30s and early 40s.

The birth rate for teenagers aged 15–19 was down 7% in 2018 to 17.4 births per 1,000 women; rates declined for both younger (aged 15–17) and older (aged 18–19) teenagers.

The Wall Street Journal comments U.S. Births Fall to Lowest Level Since 1980s.