Births in the United States held near record low numbers in 2024, up just 1%, a statistic that could fuel President Donald Trump’s recent drive to pursue policies to encourage childrearing.

Only 3.62 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2024, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is up slightly from the fewer than 3.6 million in 2023, but the number of births had been on a steady decline by an average of 2% per year from 2015 to 2020.

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Earlier this week, Trump called for a baby boom to mitigate the possible negative economic consequences of a declining birth rate, particularly fewer younger workers to support social welfare programs for aging citizens.

One of the pronatalist policies White House officials are considering is giving a $5,000 cash “baby bonus” to every mother. Another idea involves increasing public health funding for education programs on menstrual cycles and ovulation windows to improve chances of conception.

Although the report does not speculate as to the reasons for the decline, experts have long pointed to economic conditions, ranging from student debt to the high cost of child care and home ownership, as a major factor in discouraging people from starting families.

Demographers suggest that the total number of births is down partly because women are having children later in life, a trend that has been ongoing since the 2008 Great Recession.

Wednesday’s CDC report indicates that the number of births to mothers in the 40-44 age bracket increased by 4% since last year. Likewise, for women 35-39, the number of births increased by 3% since 2023.

With more people putting off having children until they are older, the total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime, also shrinks. That is a concerning trend for demographers who link the fertility rate to economic growth over time.

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The total fertility rate is only 1.6 births per woman in America, according to the new report. That is up less than 1% from last year, but it is still well below the 2.1 children per woman that demographers estimate is necessary to maintain the current population size.

Over the past four decades, the total fertility rate reached its peak at 2.12 in 2007 and has continued to decline since.