FEAR of getting fired has forced many couples in Europe and the US to abandon plans to have babies.
The uncertain economic climate since the crash in 2008 brought to an end steady increases in birth rates that were seen in almost all European countries since around 2000, according to a report on birth rates in rich countries.
Many factors influence birth rates, 鈥渂ut a main one is economic uncertainty鈥�, says of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria, one of the authors of the report (Population and Development Review, ).
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Recovery may be slow. 鈥淓ven if you have an economic boom, it could take time before there鈥檚 enough confidence, secure enough jobs and high enough salaries for fertility rates to recover,鈥� he says.
