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Family size hit by economy

I was a groomsman at my cousin’s wedding two weeks ago. My cousin, the best man and the other three groomsmen are all 30 years old. At 40 years old I was the old guy in the group.

I was a groomsman at my cousin’s wedding two weeks ago. My cousin, the best man and the other three groomsmen are all 30 years old. At 40 years old I was the old guy in the group. We had time to socialize and get caught up with what’s been happening in each other’s lives during the wedding festivities. A lot has changed in the 10 years since I was 30. The most striking difference is that none of them have any children. Four of them were in long-term relationships or married, only the best man is currently single. How could all of these mature couples have no children? When I was 30 years old my wife and I had two children and most of my friends were raising children also. I think that the recession starting in 2008 had an enormous impact. Throughout their 20’s, from 2008 to 2018, the Alberta economy saw a major recession and has been slow to recover. When I was working for the City of Calgary in 2007, we were sending delegations to the United Kingdom to recruit employees because we had more jobs than people to do them. Now, my cousin had to move to London England for employment in his field after university. I can understand how an uncertain financial future would make a person think twice about starting a family. As the Alberta economy continues to recover, hopefully people’s confidence about having children recovers also.

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