Coal mining employment in the United States has declined 41% in the past 8 years

According to the data released by the EIA, the number of coal mining jobs in the United States dropped from 92000 in 2011 to 54000 in 2018, a 41.3% drop, with the largest drop being in the Appalachian region. In 2008, U.S. coal production peaked, three years from a record high in coal mining employment. In 2008, 1458 coal mines in the United States produced 1.2 billion tons. In 2018, the United States produced 756 million tons from 679 coal mines. Similar to employment, most of the decline in coal production was concentrated in the Appalachian region. Since 2008, more than half of the mines in the area have been closed and production has declined from 390 million tons in 2008 to 200 million tons in 2018. According to the International Energy Agency, Appalachian coal mines are often smaller than those in the interior and west of the United States, and use labor-intensive underground mining technology rather than mechanical intensive longwall and open-pit mining. From 2016 to 2018, there was a slight increase in coal mining employment in the Appalachian region, which is related to the increase in coal exports, as the region is the main source of coal exported overseas. As smaller, less productive coal mines are left idle or closed, the total coal productivity (in tons per hour) gradually increased from 5.2 tons per hour in 2011 to 6.2 tons per hour in 2018. The productivity of large open-pit coal mines in the powder basin in Wyoming and Montana is higher, but as the coal seams in the area become deeper, the number of topsoil and rocks above the overburden or coal seams increases, and even the productivity of the powder basin decreases. In contrast, labor productivity in Appalachia and inland areas increased between 2011 and 2018, mainly due to their increasing reliance on low labor intensity longwall and high wall mining systems, and the closing or idling of coal mines with the lowest productivity.