Confusion about Baby Boomers

A total of 76 million Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. The peak of births was in 1957, hence the news that there is one person in the U.S. turning 50 every 8 seconds. That is true for 2007, but it won't go on forever. And we are hearing a lot of misinformation these days about the baby boom.

Cheryl Russell, editorial director of New Strategist Publications and considered the guru of data about the baby boom generation, says that the baby boom peaked with 78 million people in 2005, having added 2 million people plus from immigration. Since most people immigrate when they are in their twenties and thirties, the baby boom was gaining about 200,000 people a year during the 1980s and 1990s. Now that boomers are aged 43 to 61, there are fewer immigrants in their age group to add to their numbers. Add to that the fact that there are about 223,000 deaths among baby boomers each year and rising, the baby boom cohort is beginning to shrink. Expect the number of deaths to grow by about 10 percent a year. In short, Boomers have reached the tipping point in growth and now their cohort is beginning to shrink.

A radio news story the other day said the number of baby boomers is increasing and would shortly reach 80 million. That's just plain wrong. Baby boomers are a strong consumer group for many products and services. But don't let anyone tell you that their numbers are growing stronger.

Believe it or not, some time in the next decade they will be outnumbered by the Millennial Generation as immigrants add to the population in that cohort.