“Natural increase,” or births minus deaths, created 54 percent of Utah’s population growth over the past year — down from historical averages of around 66 percent. (And in 2010 amid the Great Recession, it accounted for 95 percent of Utah’s total growth).
“Natural increase is still strong. It’s still the major share of growth. But it’s been going down steadily since the onset of the Great Recession,” said Pam Perlich, director of demographics at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah.
Perlich sees many potential causes for declining births here, even though Utah still has the nation’s top overall fertility rate, according to the U.