Fertility Rates: Lowest in Decades

Fertility rate trends are a useful indicator for future population growth and prosperity because changing fertility rates have implications for family size, female labor force participation, and economic growth.[1] An analysis of two measures of fertility – general fertility rate and total fertility rate – indicates that fertility levels are dropping in the United States, New York State, and the Mid-Hudson Valley.[2]

General fertility rate is a measure of the number of live births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 because these years are generally considered the primary childbearing years for women.