Thread: Hispanic fertility drives U.S. population growth

Hispanic fertility drives U.S. population growth
Aug. 18, 2008 04:01 PM

WASHINGTON - If it weren't for Hispanic births, the U.S. could be confronting long-term population declines similar to those in Germany, Japan and other industrialized countries.

Hispanics are the only ethnic group now producing more than two children per family, according to a Census Bureau report released Monday. That's the number necessary to replace the mother and father and keep the population stable.

"The Hispanic population is growing; whites and Asians are not replacing themselves," said Jane Dye, the Census Bureau demographer who wrote the study.
The average U.S. woman produces 1.9 children, but broken down by ethnicity, the numbers are 1.7 for Asian Americans, 1.8 for non-Hispanic whites, 2.0 for blacks and 2.3 for Hispanics. American Indians and Native Americans weren't included in the report. The fertility rates are sufficient, combined with immigration, to keep the U.S. population growing.

"It's the Hispanic population that is keeping us above water in terms of growth, in terms of births," said William Frey, a demographer for The Brookings Institution, a center-left policy research organization in Washington, D.C.

The report took a closer look at women who gave birth between January 2005 and December 2006. It found that:


• About a fifth of women at the end of childbearing age - 40 through 44 years old - have no children, double what the childless rate was 30 years ago. This figure approaches the rates during the Great Depression, according to Andrew Cherlin, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University who focuses on families and public policy.


• About a third of women with newborns didn't have husbands at home. "A half-century ago, a woman who had a child outside of marriage was highly stigmatized," Cherlin said. "Now, she's likely to be accepted."


• Women, who overall are more educated than ever, are waiting longer to have children. Mothers with at least a bachelor's degree have the most children when they're 30 to 34. For women who don't finish high school, that peak occurs when they're 20 through 24.


• Women in the Northeast have the lowest fertility rates, while women in the Midwest have the highest, the report said. Utah was the most fertile state, with 83.2 births per 1,000 women in the year studied.

The high birthrates of Hispanic women should make policymakers reorder their spending, Frye said.

"We need to focus a lot more than we have before on the education opportunities for immigrant children. This makes very clear that they're a big part of our future."

To census researcher Dye's surprise, Hispanic birthrates didn't fall consistently as the ethnic group assimilated into U.S. society.

Instead, they dropped in the second generation but rose in the third.

"I wondered why that was true, and found that those second-generation Hispanic mothers did have higher education attainment than the third generation," Dye said.

Falling birth rates have one advantage, according to demographic experts: They ease pressure on scarce natural resources. But there's a downside, Cherlin said.

"It means that 25 years from now, there'll be many elderly people who are childless and who may not have anybody to care for them."

The Census Bureau used data from the American Community Survey, which has a sample size of 3 million U.S. addresses. The report also used historical fertility information from the Census's Current Population Survey.

To read the Census Bureau's fertility study, visit: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p20-558.pdf.




http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... 1N.html

Originally Posted by FedUpinFarmersBranch

WASHINGTON - If it weren't for Hispanic births, the U.S. could be confronting long-term population declines similar to those in Germany, Japan and other industrialized countries.

Then how did our population grow 100 million people (not decline) over the last 38 years? 38 years ago we didn't have 40 million Hispanics having tons of children. What idiot wrote this article?

"The Hispanic population is growing; whites and Asians are not replacing themselves," said Jane Dye, the Census Bureau demographer who wrote the study.

Whites and Asians would like to have more children. But there is a huge cost to have more than a few children, and they do not want to be a financial burdon to taxpayers by taking advantage of government programs.

But IMO, the Hispanic polulation are irresponsibly having too many children and are taking advantage of government programs.

It is really unfair.

Originally Posted by butterbean

"The Hispanic population is growing; whites and Asians are not replacing themselves," said Jane Dye, the Census Bureau demographer who wrote the study.

Whites and Asians would like to have more children. But there is a huge cost to have more than a few children, and they do not want to be a financial burdon to taxpayers by taking advantage of government programs.

But IMO, the Hispanic polulation are irresponsibly having too many children and are taking advantage of government programs.

It is really unfair.

Thank you butterbean!! You are 100% correct!! I would like to have just ONE child but cannot afford it! Yet my tax dollars have to subsidize some illegal invader with their out-of-control breeding habits!

It's absolutely disgusting!

The presence of immigrants from the Third World depresses the fertilty of American citizens.


Parents generally wait until they feel that they can raise children at the same standards thatt they experienced. The more unskilled labor living here the greater the likelyhood that the depressed wage results in those who grew up here waiting to have children.


An immigrant laborer from the Third World who is paid minimum wage is likely to have a higher standard of living than their parents. To them the now the world has opened up and they can afford children.


Then there is the cost of the public benefits being health and education for children which are covered by taxes paid by those at higher incomes. This includes the parents of the childless American citizen laborers.


I think that the laborers of the Third World have the right to come here within the limits of the law. People who try to use this argument presented in the editorial should cause anger from the American population if they apply it to illegal aliens.

I am amazed that this study was done paying no attention to illegal vs. legal Hispanics.

If there were more diversity in immigration, this wouldn't be an issue.

Dixie

"It's the Hispanic population that is keeping us above water in terms of growth, in terms of births," said William Frey, a demographer for The Brookings Institution, a center-left policy research organization in Washington, D.C.

Regardless of the picture population growth advocates like to paint, I don't buy into the notion that growth is a good thing (not at current levels). IMO, we need to stabilize population growth, perhaps even reduce it, not grow it. Our natural resources are finite and there are obvious indicators that show we are straining our environment. When is enough, enough?

Is this what we want for our children?

"A half-century ago, a woman who had a child outside of marriage was highly stigmatized," Cherlin said. "Now, she's likely to be accepted."

Accepted by whom?

I agree with MW. We should be aiming to stabilize population growth. That use to be a major concern in the news a few decades ago but obviously the powers that be decided otherwise, guess more bods means more money. Thus what has occurred is illegal immigration which includes visa overstayers.