Americans are waiting longer to marry, and household size declined between 2000 and 2010, according to the US Census Bureau. Marriage is also declining among young people, the Bureau reports. The media have been quick to point to the 2008 recession as the key cause. A long-term decline in marriage accelerated during the severe recession with more couples postponing marriage and often choosing to cohabit without tying the knot. Meanwhile, the US Center for Health Statistics has reported a 2.7% drop in fertility from 2008 to 2009. The US birth rate has dropped for the second year in a row, and experts think the wrenching recession led many people to put off having children.
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