Mansfield birth rates hold steady amid national baby recession

THE birth rates in some regional areas including Mansfield are holding steady despite reports that the nation faces a “baby recession” that is most pronounced in capital cities according to an analysis from KPMG. KPMG Australia analysis shows the country is in the midst of a baby recession as births across the country fall by 4.6 per cent year on year. The number of births in 2023 was the lowest since 2006, with KPMG citing cost-of-living pressures as impacting the feasibility of younger Australians to have children. During 2023, 289,100 babies were born in Australia, a significant reduction from the 2021 post-lockdown spike which saw 315,200 babies born. Melbourne’s birth rate has declined 7.3 percent, behind only Sydney, which saw a whopping decline of 8.6 percent. In 2023, Melbourne CBD (north) recorded a fertility rate of 0.36 percent (82 births), Melbourne CBD (west) recorded 0.4 percent (78 births) and Melbourne CBD (east) recorded 0.48 percent (60 births). Birth rates in regional Australia are steadier, with the rate in regional Victoria declining 0.4 percent and in regional NSW declining 0.3 percent. Mansfield recorded a rate of 1.32 percent which equated to 71 births in the reporting period. According to KPMG, the declines seen in regional Australia signal the end of the pandemic sea and tree change boom for the regions. KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said current cost-of-living pressures are having a particularly strong impact on declining births. “We haven't seen such a sharp drop in births in Australia since the period of economic stagflation in the 1970s, which coincided with the initial widespread adoption of the contraceptive pill,” he said. “With the current rise in living expenses applying pressure on household finances, many Australians have decided to delay starting or expanding their families.” “This is against the backdrop of a long-term decline in the total fertility rate, which has declined from over two children per woman in 2008 to 1.6 in 2023." Canberra was the only capital city to see no drop in births since 2019, which Mr Rawnsley linked with Canberra’s slightly subdued CPI growth relative to other capital cities. Other nearby regional centres recorded a variety of birth rates. Benalla recorded a fertility rate of 1.7 percent (84 births), Seymour recorded 1.29 percent (50 births), Shepparton surrounds (west) recorded 2.04 percent (111 births), Shepparton surrounds (east) recorded 1.54 percent (32), Shepparton (north) recorded 1.71 percent (235 births) and Shepparton (south east) recorded 1.73 percent (183 births).

Mansfield birth rates hold steady amid national baby recession

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