Yes, this epoch has shown really small growth. At the same time, 2114 people was failed last validation (1480 were killed). As a result, we see not a fall, but even a small growth.
I wouldn't care too much about the 1480 killed identities, since I think those are old members who killed their identities for the stake and rejoined the network.
What makes me sad.. the 2114 identities who failed the validation.