The fresh data points to the great likelihood the post-Great Recession decline in births is to stay permanent.

"About 3.75 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2019, down 1% from the prior year," WSJ summarizes of new stats from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics produced Wednesday. "The general fertility rate fell 2% to 58.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44." This is the "lowest level since the government began tracking the figure in 1909."

Birthrates were down for all ages and races, especially the teen birthrate which has fallen a whopping 73% since it peaked in 1991, with the exception of women in their early 40s - where there was an uptick - suggesting that couples are waiting longer to start families.

"The total fertility rate — a snapshot of the average number of babies a woman would have over her lifetime — ticked down to 1.7 in 2019, a slight decline from the previous year [of 1.72] and another record low," WSJ continues. 

"In almost all years since 1971, that rate has been below the level of 2.1 needed for the population to replace itself, without accounting for immigration."