Differential Fertility in the United States: 1976-1980

Abstract

The US fertility rate rose slightly from 67 births/1000 women ages 18-44 in 1976 to 71/1000 in 1980 according to the Current Population Surveys (CPS) for those years. The most notable increases occurred among women who were 30 or older married women living with their husbands women living in the South and women whose family income was at least $25000. Despite these increases the pattern of fertility differences among socioeconomic groups in 1980 was similar to that in 1976. 1/3 of women 18-44 years old who had a child in the year preceding the June 1980 CPS were employed at the time of the survey; this finding reflects the rapid return of women to work after a birth. Approximately 1/2 of the births to employed women were 1st births compared to only 1/3 for women not in the labor force. 20% of mothers were living in poverty areas and 27% were living in families with incomes less than $10000. 45% of all women who had a birth between July 1979-June 1980 were high school graduates. Women who were not high school graduates accounted for 25% of all births while college graduates accounted for another 13%. Almost 1/2 of births to college graduates were 1st births indicative of delayed childbearing among this group of women. Hispanic women although constituting less than 7% of women 18-44 in 1980 accounted for 10% of all births. Their fertility rate of 107 births/1000 women was 50% higher than the rate for all women. (authors)