Census: Number of U.S. youth shrinks: The bad economy and slowdown in immigration is shrinking the nation's youthful population for the first time in a generation, according to Census data released today.
The number of people under 18 stood at 73.9 million on July 1, 2011, a decline of more than 260,000 from the previous year.
The last drop in the child population was in the 1970s, when most of the 77 million Baby Boomers had reached adulthood. Before that, it was during the Great Depression.
Overall, the U.S. population is growing at its slowest rate since the mid-1940s.
