Number of the Day
The Covid-19 Baby Bust, by the Numbers
Businesses that cater to infants are in for a rough couple of years
300,000 to 500,000: That’s how many fewer babies the think tank Brookings Institution projects will be born in the United States next year. Birth rates in the United States were already steadily declining before the pandemic, but the latest projection is a steep drop from the 3.7 million babies born in 2019, which was 1% lower than in 2018.
The authors of the Brookings Institution report write that stories about birth spikes nine months after blizzards or major blackouts, when couples are cooped up together, tend not to hold up to statistical examination. And in this case, the increased uncertainty caused by the pandemic and its economic fallout is leading prospective parents to put off having kids until conditions are more stable. But the authors expect “that many of these births will not just be delayed — but will never happen.”
It’s not just the United States, either. China’s birth rates are at their lowest levels on record and are expected to drop by 8% this year.
That’s bad news for businesses that cater to infants and new mothers, many of which had already been diversifying their products to hedge against declining birth rates. The…
