Low Birth Rate An Alert For California

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Modern lifestyle choices bear their ugly mark on the alarming low rate of birth in California. In modern state history its a record low and it brings back the worrisome memory of 1933 during the Great Depression.

According to The Sacramento Bee, there is no similarity between the California of today and that of the 1933 meltdown, however their statistics on the dismal low rates are very similar. That time the unemployment was on an all time high. Economy was hit so bad that even basic amenities like food was hard to avail.

Today's California is much more developed but has its own devils to face. With the increased focus on education and employment prospects people are more career oriented as compared to earlier generations that valued family.

By the time people settle into a job following the years of higher education they are already over 30 and it intentionally or unintentionally delays child bearing.

Additionally Sfgate links the low birth rate to the preference of small family, over priced real estate market and the economy still recovering from the late 2000's recession. There is still shortage of affordable living and better paying job opportunities. People today do not want to have children before settling down financially.

The State Department of Finance confirms the shocking statistics. Mere 12.4 babies are born for every 1000 people in California. Its even lower than 12.6 births per 1000 people in 1933.

As expected, the struggling economy of California's northern countries marked them down the list while the prosperous places like Bay Area and Central Coast faired better but just marginally. Overall its an alarming situation for whole California.

Unfortunately California's decade old trend of minimal population growth continues with the state's low birth rate. Walter Schwarm, a demographer with the Department of Finance concludes "In the 70's and 80's we were pretty much a new state, with plenty of opportunity and open land, and many people came here. Now, we look like a state that isn't at that point anymore."