WASHINGTON, DC – Gun sales are up 66 percent since the beginning of the Great Recession, providing an unexpected shot in the arm for the economy, according to a new study.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation claims that firearm sales hit $31 billion in 2011, up from $19 billion in 2008.
The increase in sales accounted for a 30 percent increase in jobs to 98,750 last year.
It also led to $2.5 billion in federal taxes in 2011, an 66 percent increase.
“Ours is an industry with a rich history and heritage that remains vital and important to the American economy today,” NSSF Senior Vice President Lawrence G. Keane said in a statement. “To millions of Americans our industry’s products represent liberty, security and recreation.”
