Fears of scarcity, civil unrest, and ongoing political discord during this election year have caused firearm background checks to hit record numbers as gun sales have surged throughout the US.
The boom began in March alongside international COVID-19 shutdowns that quickly interrupted consumer product supply chains and drove America’s shoppers to hoard what they could find. As grocery store shelves remained emptied of necessities like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, meats, and flour, gun retailers and manufacturers experienced runs on firearms and ammunition, too.
In 2020 (so far), gun sales hit their highest mark in March with 2.5 million units sold. That’s about 1.2 million more than were sold during the same time period in 2019. Simultaneously, background checks for those gun sales reached record-breaking numbers, too. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) initiated more than 3.74 million firearm background checks, the highest single-month number since the NICS program launched in late 1998.
Black Lives Matter demonstrations and the derivative violent protests related to a cacophony of political disagreements plus environmental stressors like wildfires, hurricanes, and derechos, have helped to deplete gun and ammunition supplies as the year has dragged on. Though subsequent monthly sales numbers have yet to top total sales from March, they still remain higher month-to-month than those from 2019. And, with nearly 26 billion background checks already tallied for 2020 – three months left to go at press time – the NCIS has another record-breaking year in its cites, as well.
In the coming months, the biggest question for gun and ammunition manufacturers will be how well they can and want to keep up with the demand. History predicts a spike in sales if a Democrat president wins the November election while the reelection of President Trump would lead to a decline.
Employment needs for manufacturers in this segment are already hanging in the balance due to COVID-19 restrictions. For the remainder of 2020, their staffing and recruiting practices will have to remain extremely agile.
ClearStar offers background checks for manufacturing companies that find the best possible candidates by meeting needs specific to the industry as well as the individual business. Efficient outcomes achieved via mobile candidate communications are designed to comply with privacy and security laws while boosting a client’s speed to hire while also saving time, money, and unnecessary risk throughout the recruiting process.
