Across the country, women in their 30s are having babies at the highest rate since the 1960s, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Arkansas, the number of births in 2015 among women age 30 to 39 was 11,215. This is a 22.9% jump since 2007.
Also, the number of births to women of other ages in Arkansas in 2015 was 27,671. This is a 14.2% decline since 2007.
The total number of births to women age 30 to 39 has increased in all states except Connecticut, New Hampshire and New Jersey from 2007 to 2015, according to a Stateline analysis of National Center for Health Statistics data.
The higher birthrates among older women helps offset a decline in births among younger women age 15 to 24. Overall fertility rates in the U.S. are at a historic low among women of childbearing age, 15 to 44, despite the high rates for women in their 30s.
Stateline reports:
If the trend of more women having babies in their 30s continues, it also holds out hope that the nation can partly replenish its workforce — especially if President Donald Trump follows through on his campaign promises to limit immigration.
As the baby-boom generation ages out of the workplace, the U.S. has depended on immigration to keep its population growing and to maintain its workforce amid declining birthrates. Without a steady supply of new immigrants, who have higher fertility rates than native-born women, the nation’s workforce will start shrinking and could drop over the next 20 years, according to a report this month from the Pew Research Center.
Read the full report.
