Fox News is reporting that new 2012 census data reveals that 1,135 of the nation's 3,143 counties are now experiencing "natural decrease," where deaths exceed births. This means a record number of one in three U.S. counties are in decline.
The only thing saving the U.S. from the declining population problems being experienced in Japan and Europe at this time are the high birth rates among the immigrant population. In places such as New York, Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh, if not for the immigrant populations in those cities, they would have posted flat or negative population growth in the last year.
"Immigrants are innovators, entrepreneurs, they're making things happen. They create jobs," said Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, at an immigration conference in his state last week.
They're also reproducing.
"In the last year, Maine joined West Virginia as the only two entire states where deaths exceed births, which have dropped precipitously after the recent recession," Fox reports. "As a nation, the U.S. population grew by just 0.75 percent last year, stuck at historically low levels not seen since 1937."
Experts say low birth rates aren't the only cause of the decline. Increasing mortality rates are also affecting the situation and will do so for years to come as the estimated 70 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 move into their older years.
Another factor is the migration of the young from areas of the Midwest and Northeast who are flocking to the better job markets in the South and West.
"Among the 20 fastest-growing large metropolitan areas last year, 16 grew faster than in 2011 and most of them are located in previously growing parts of the Sun Belt or Mountain West," Fox reports. "Among the slowest-growing or declining metropolitan areas, most are now doing worse than in 2011 and they are all located in the Northeast and Midwest."
New York has the largest number of young people moving away but is saved by its large immigrant population.
Cities such as Dallas, Houston and Austin are a big draw for young people, as are Phoenix, Las Vegas and Orlando.
"The brakes that were put on migration during the Great Recession appear to be easing up," said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the migration data. "Native migrants are becoming more `footloose' -- following the geographic ups and downs of the labor market -- than are immigrants, who have tended to locate in established ethnic communities in big cities."
He added: "Immigration levels are not where they were a decade ago, but their recent uptick demonstrates the important safety valve they can be for areas with stagnating populations."
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