Financial hardship drives Europe's fertility rate down The recent economic crisis has caused fertility in Europe to decline, particularly among younger workers experiencing the highest unemployment and those in peripheral states, research shows. A study from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research found that a period of stable to rising fertility rates across Europe came to a halt, and in some countries reversed, after 2008. The reversal was particularly acute in Spain, Hungary, Ireland, Croatia, and Latvia, the study found. With the exception of Ireland, low fertility in each threatened the ability of future governments to support growing numbers of the elderly, who rely on the next generation of taxpayers to provide their pensions. The growth rate of Europe's population had already slowed sharply in the past decade and would have actually declined were it not for immigration, according to figures from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. Economists generally associate falling populations - particularly among those of working age - with slowing economic activity. Joblessness in the eurozone hit a high in May, rising to 12.1 per cent from 12 per cent a month earlier, according to Eurostat. The youth unemployment rate was 23.1 per cent across the EU and 23.9 per cent in the eurozone. "Our results indicate a strong relationship between economic conditions and fertility," the researchers concluded. On average, if the unemployment rate rises, birth rates drop for 28 European countries in every age group. The drop in the number of births was sharpest for women under 25. For every one percentage point rise in unemployment for those aged 15 to 19, fertility fell nearly 0.2 percentage points. For those aged 20 to 24, it fell 0.1 percentage points. In southern Europe, where youth unemployment is highest, the decline in fertility since 2008 was 0.3 percentage points for those aged 15 to 19 and 0.2 per cent for those aged 20 to 24. Greece, Spain and Portugal had the highest youth unemployment rates as of May, hitting 59.2, 56.5 and 42.1 per cent respectively. The study notes that unemployment did not alter mothers" decisions on whether to have a second child as much as it did their first. However, that was less true for mothers aged 30 to 44, with birth rates for second children falling since 2008 in this age group.