The Gun-Manufacturing Boom
(Bloomberg View) -- On Jobs Day every month, I write a brief column looking at some long-run trend in the data that gets ignored in the excitement over whether nonfarm payroll employment gains beat the consensus or not (and wow, did they in June). With the terrible events of the past week, I wondered whether it made sense to do so today. But, well, there is a somewhat relevant employment category:
Employment in the gun-making industry in the U.S. isn't exactly booming. But as the overall manufacturing sector hemorrhaged jobs from 2001 to 2010, gun makers did at least hold employment reasonably steady.
That's partly because their output was booming. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the number of firearms produced in the U.S. more than tripled from 2001 through 2013:
Also, firearm imports quadrupled over that period, from 1.4 million in 2001 to 5.5 million in 2013. The U.S., while a net exporter of armaments overall, according to the International Trade Administration, is mainly an importer of small arms. The biggest foreign suppliers of guns to the U.S. are Austria (revolvers and pistols) and Italy (sports shotguns and rifles). The military-style AR-15 semi-automatic rifles that have been used in several recent shooting sprees appear to be mostly homegrown.
Despite the spectacular rise in the number of guns out there, gun violence has actually not increased in the U.S. in recent years. It fell sharply in the 1990s, before the gun boom. Since then, according to the Pew Research Center, the gun homicide rate is down, the gun suicide rate is up and the overall gun death rate is flat. What is up is the frequency of mass shootings. Why is that? I have come bearing charts, but they don't seem to contain the answers.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Data for narrow industry categories is released with a one-month delay, which is why this chart goes up to May even though the June jobs data came out today.
They actually fell substantially in to million -- the trade data is apparently available on a more timely basis than the manufacturing data. The next annual ATF firearms commerce report should be out in a few weeks.
To contact the author of this story: Justin Fox at justinfox@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brooke Sample at bsample1@bloomberg.net.
For more columns from Bloomberg View, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/view.
-
Unhedged Position: Can India See An Indonesia-Style Time Correction?
The Nifty is trading below levels it first clocked in 2024. Is there, then, as I have suggested in the headline, potential that the current time correction drags on painfully for the next three-five, even ten years?
-
Navigating Friction And Energy Realities: An Analysis Of Marco Rubio's October Visit To India
Occurring at a critical juncture marked by stalled trade negotiations and escalating geopolitical pressures over global energy supplies, the visit offers a profound window into modern US-India relations.
-
India Exports Capital. Why Not Export Trusteeship?
The big question, then, is whether India can build an institution that global borrowers, investors, banks, and lawyers can trust, even without an Indian connection.
-
France's Economy & Politics Are In Crisis | The Reason Why
Let's look at how the French economy and politics evolved under Nicolas Sarkozy, Franois Hollande and Emmanuel Macron.
-
You May Inherit The Business. You Must Earn Its Credibility.
Succession tests the founder's ability to share authority as much as it tests the next generation's readiness to assume it.
-
Signing Deals Is One Thing; Making Them Work Is Another | The Week In Whys
Sometimes, things don't turn out as planned. Indian companies have lost some bids to rivals, some projects won't produce until 2030.
-
FOMC Wall, PERM Suspension, Hospital Stocks | Talking Points This Week
A PERM suspension would directly affect green-card sponsorship rather than H-1B visas, so the near-term earnings impact could remain relatively limited. The key question is whether this marks a new phase in US scrutiny of Indian IT.
-
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once: Dalal Street's Week To Forget | Joining The Dots
Visa curbs, a Starlink spat and cancer drug caps: what connects this week's shocks for Indian markets
-
India Is Going Abroad For Critical Minerals. But It May Take Years To Pay Off | The Reason Why
Although India's steps are in the right direction, they remain modest compared with India's growing dependence.
-
When Everyone Has AI, What Gives You An Edge?
India's young workforce is entering an uncertain world of work where powerful AI tools are becoming widely accessible. The advantage will belong to those who combine deep expertise with digital fluency, and the distinctly human capabilities that technology cannot manufacture.
