A new report released by the Brookings Institution has found that the average cost of raising a child has grown to over $300,000 in the USA, primarily due to sky-high inflation rates.
Reportedly, the research showed that the average amount required to raise a child of a middle-income married couple, born in 2015, till he/she is 17 years old or in high school will be $310,605; which comes down to roughly $18,271 per year.
The estimates include everything from housing, food, clothing, healthcare, child care, diapers, haircuts, and sports equipment. Moreover, it includes the money spent on learning extracurricular activities and celebrating different childhood milestones.
“A lot of people are going to think twice before they have either a first child or a subsequent child because everything is costing more. You also may feel like you have to work more.” said Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow at the institute.
It is pertinent to note that the earlier figure stood at $233,610, as released by the US Department of Agriculture in 2015.
According to Brookings Institution, the new calculations used the previous government estimate only, using it as a baseline but also pairing it up with the recent inflation trends.
What is the inflation trend in the US?
As reported by WION, US has been facing its worst bout of economic slowdown in recent times. The economy has contracted for two successive quarters which suggests that a recession has set in place.
Read More: President Biden claims US had ‘zero per cent inflation’ in July; gets trolled by Republicans
The inflation rate for the month of July stood at 8.5 per cent, majorly due to a drop in fuel prices. However, if compared to year-on-year numbers, the inflation rate was still touching a 40-year record high and consumers were bearing the brunt of it. In June, the figure stood at 9.1 per cent.
Moreover, a recent Bloomberg survey stated that there was a 40 per cent chance that the country will slip into a recession by next year.
Read more: Zero probability of recession in India while US has a 40 per cent chance: Study
(With inputs from agencies)
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