Recently, NHPR examined the impact of the firearms industry on the state's economy. Especially now, with gun sales at historic highs, this subset of New Hampshire's manufacturing industry is benefiting. Looking at federal firearms manufacturing licenses, we've pinpointed where the state's firearms manufacturers are located.
As federal lawmakers grapple with tighter gun control laws, business is good for the firearms industry.Across the country, gun dealers can’t keep them on the shelves, and manufacturers can’t keep up with demand. But how do these trends affect New Hampshire's economy?
Mitt Romney and President Obama frequently remind us, jobs and the economy are the issues of the 2012 presidential race. The loss of an estimated 3 million manufacturing since 2000 has carved a deep hole in the American economy. Many manufacturing jobs have gone overseas, taking a toll on the middle class wages that once anchored the American economy.
The New Hampshire Department of Education says that in the past decade there has been a 6 percent increase in the number of high school graduates continuing on to college, but also a five percent increase in the number of high schoolers leaving the state for college.
Nationally, there are about 600,000 unfilled factory jobs. But despite high unemployment, these jobs are proving all-but-impossible to fill, even in New Hampshire. For one thing, most people don’t have the skills. And many companies are handing over the training, and cost, of potential new workers to community colleges. But that still doesn’t guarantee it will lead to new hires.
