Coal and jobs in the United States

From SourceWatch

Contents 1 Total coal-related jobs 2 Coal mining jobs 2.1 Earnings and unionization in coal mining 2.2 Coal mining jobs versus wind power jobs 3 Coal-fired power plant jobs 4 Coal transportation jobs 5 Age of workers 5.1 Coal plants 5.2 Mines 6 Coal, income, and poverty 7 Resources 7.1 References 7.2 Related SourceWatch Resources 7.3 External links

Total coal-related jobs

There are approximately 174,000 blue-collar, full-time, permanent jobs related to coal in the U.S.: mining (83,000), transportation (31,000), and power plant employment (60,000). (See below for details on each sector.) The U.S. civilian labor force totaled 141,730,000 workers in 2005; thus, permanent blue-collar coal industry employees represent 0.12% of the U.S. workforce.^[1] (Compare this percentage with the 1.89% of U.S. workers who worked in coal mining alone in 1920.)

This total does not include indirect employment - workers who are not directly employed in the coal industry, but whose jobs are supported by that industry. It is entirely possible that thousands - even tens of thousands - of workers are indirectly supported entirely by the coal industry. However, the National Coal Association's 1994 estimate that the coal industry directly and indirectly employs around 1.5 million people^[2] seems exaggerated. The level of indirect employment is in the low hundreds of thousands - not in the millions.

Coal mining jobs

In 2006, there were 82,595 people employed in coal mining in the U.S. Of those, 47,475 worked in underground mining, and 35,398 worked in surface mining.

Here is a breakdown of the geographical distribution of underground coal mining jobs in 2006 (with coal production in thousands of short tons):^[3][4]

State	Total Coal Production	Underground Mining Jobs	Surface Mining Jobs	Total Jobs	Annual Production Per Miner
West Virginia	152,374	13,190	6,886	20,076	7.59
Kentucky	120,848	11,902	6,057	17,959	6.73
Pennsylvania	66,029	5,099	2,427	7,526	8.77
Wyoming	446,742	128	5,709	5,837	76.54
Virginia	29,740	3,623	1,639	5,262	5.65
Alabama	18,830	2,621	1,574	4,195	4.49
Illinois	32,729	3,507	470	3,977	8.23
Indiana	35,119	1,231	1,627	2,858	12.29
Ohio	22,722	1,384	1,029	2,413	9.42
Colorado	36,322	1,682	547	2,229	16.30
Texas	45,548	0	2,138	2,138	21.30
Utah	26,018	2,030	6	2,036	12.78
New Mexico	25,913	368	1,004	1,372	18.89
North Dakota	30,411	0	947	947	32.11
Montana	41,823	58	884	942	44.40
Washington	2,580	0	673	673	3.83
Tennessee	2,804	333	327	660	4.25
Maryland	5,054	205	285	490	10.31
Arizona	8,216	0	418	418	19.66
Louisiana	4,114	0	243	243	16.93
Oklahoma	1,998	73	151	224	8.92
Mississippi	3,797	0	178	178	21.33
Alaska	1,425	0	96	96	14.84
Kansas	426	0	61	61	6.98
Arkansas	23	41	2	43	0.53
Missouri	394	0	20	20	19.70
Total U.S.	1,162,750	47,475	35,398	82,595	14.08

From these data, we can see the huge discrepancy in coal mine productivity between Western and Eastern mines. Montana (with 942 coal miners) produces more coal than Virginia (with 5,262 coal miners). Wyoming (with 5,837 coal miners) produces more coal than West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alabama, and Illinois combined (with a total of 58,995 coal miners). Due to this discrepancy, the coal mining industry has increasingly moved production to these Western states (especially to the Powder River Basin), and has dramatically cut its workforce in Appalachia.

Since 1900, technological developments in the coal mining industry have dramatically increased miner productivity; thus, while U.S. coal production is currently at a record high, mining employment is a fraction of what it was during the heyday of coal mining in the 1910's and 20's:^[5][6][7][4]

Year	Total U.S. Coal Production	Total U.S. Coal Miner Employment	Annual Production Per Miner
1900	269,684	448,581	0.60
1910	501,596	725,030	0.69
1920	658,265	784,621	0.84
1930	527,172	644,006	0.82
1940	512,256	530,388	0.97
1950	560,388	488,206	1.15
1955	490,838	258,616	1.90
1960	434,329	188,451	2.30
1965	526,954	144,864	3.64
1970	612,659	146,078	4.19
1975	654,641	193,787	3.38
1980	829,700	228,569	3.63
1985	883,638	169,281	5.22
1990	1,029,076	131,306	7.84
1995	1,033,000	83,462	12.38
2000	1,073,600	71,522	15.01
2006	1,162,750	82,595	14.08

Earnings and unionization in coal mining

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average earnings of nonsupervisory coal workers in 2006 was $1,093 per week or $22.08 per hour. For private industry as a whole, average nonsupervisory worker earnings in 2006 were $568 per week or $16.76 per hour. In the coal, metal ore, and nonmetallic mineral mining industries, 19 percent of workers were union members in 2006, compared with 12 percent of workers throughout private industry.^[8]

Coal mining jobs versus wind power jobs

Wind industry jobs surpassed coal mining jobs in 2008, as wind employment increased by 70% from 50,000 in 2007 to 85,000 in 2008.^[9][10]

Coal-fired power plant jobs

According to Singh & Fehrs' 2001 analysis of Energy Information Administration data, the average coal-fired power plant - per megawatt of peak capacity - employs 0.18 people in operations & maintenance on a permanent basis.^[11] Thus, the average 300 MW coal-fired power plant would employ 54 people in operation & maintenance on an ongoing basis. This corresponds closely with the Energy Information Administration's assessment that, in 1997, the average 300 MW coal-fired power plant had 53 employees.^[12]

Using this estimate, we can create an approximate calculation of the total employment of operation & maintenance staff in coal-fired power plants in the U.S.:^[13]

Rank	State	Total Number of Coal Plants	Total Coal Plant Capacity	Total Coal Plant O&M Jobs (est.)
1	Ohio	114	23,825 MW	4,289
2	Indiana	90	21,551 MW	3,879
3	Texas	40	21,238 MW	3,823
4	Pennsylvania	78	20,475 MW	3,686
5	Illinois	83	17,565 MW	3,162
6	Kentucky	56	16,510 MW	2,972
7	West Virginia	42	15,372 MW	2,767
8	Georgia	46	14,594 MW	2,627
9	North Carolina	67	13,279 MW	2,390
10	Michigan	88	12,891 MW	2,320
11	Alabama	45	12,684 MW	2,283
12	Missouri	56	11,810 MW	2,126
13	Florida	30	11,382 MW	2,049
14	Tennessee	62	10,290 MW	1,852
15	Wisconsin	70	7,123 MW	1,282
16	Iowa	72	6,492 MW	1,169
17	South Carolina	36	6,469 MW	1,164
18	Virginia	55	6,208 MW	1,117
19	Wyoming	23	6,168 MW	1,110
20	Oklahoma	15	5,720 MW	1,030
21	Arizona	16	5,681 MW	1,023
22	Minnesota	46	5,676 MW	1,022
23	Kansas	16	5,473 MW	985
24	Colorado	33	5,308 MW	955
25	Maryland	18	5,236 MW	942
26	Utah	16	5,080 MW	914
27	New Mexico	11	4,382 MW	789
28	New York	48	4,273 MW	769
29	North Dakota	15	4,246 MW	764
30	Arkansas	5	3,958 MW	712
31	Louisiana	6	3,764 MW	678
32	Nebraska	16	3,212 MW	578
33	Nevada	8	2,769 MW	498
34	Mississippi	9	2,696 MW	485
35	Montana	7	2,536 MW	456
36	New Jersey	9	2,237 MW	403
37	Massachusetts	12	1,776 MW	320
38	Washington	2	1,460 MW	263
39	Delaware	10	1,082 MW	195
40	Connecticut	2	614 MW	111
41	New Hampshire	5	609 MW	110
42	Oregon	1	601 MW	108
43	South Dakota	2	481 MW	87
44	California	10	439 MW	79
45	Hawaii	1	203 MW	37
46	Alaska	18	118 MW	21
47	Maine	1	103 MW	19
48	Idaho	6	19 MW	3
49	Rhode Island	0	0 MW	0
50	Vermont	0	0 MW	0
	Total U.S.	1,522	335,891 MW	60,460

This estimate of about 60,000 jobs in operations & maintenance in all U.S. coal-fired power plants seems reasonable, as 2006 U.S. Department of Labor data tells us that installation, maintenance, repair, and production occupations employed 160,980 people at all power plants in the U.S. in 2006.^[14] As coal power plants provided 31.2% of generating capacity and generated 49.0% of U.S. electricity in 2006, it seems reasonable that coal-fired power plants would employ 37.6% of power plant operations & maintenance workers in the U.S.^[13]

Average coal power plant employment has fallen dramatically over the past few decades - both due to technological developments and to rising labor costs. In 1985, according to the EIA, the average 300 MW coal-fired power plant had 78 employees; thus, employment per megawatt declined by 32% between 1985 and 1997.^[12]

Coal transportation jobs

Again, according to their 2001 analysis of Energy Information Administration data, Singh & Fehrs - starting with the proportion of coal that is transported by various means (95.9% by rail, 3.8% by barge, and 0.4% by truck), then calculating the average jobs per unit cost for these shipping industries, then applying coal shipping costs to these calculations - estimate that coal transportation employed 30,757 workers in 1995.^[11]

Age of workers

Coal plants

The average age of coal plant workers is 48 years. A study by Krishnan and Associates concluded that "a 2,000 MW coal-fired plant with about 200 to 250 employees will likely lose half its current plant staff in the next decade due to retirement, attrition and other similar issues."^[15]

Mines

The average age of coal miners in West Virginia is 55.^[16]

Coal, income, and poverty

There are 54 coal mines in the U.S. that produced more than 4 million tons of coal in 2006; these 54 mines are located in 34 counties. The median 2005 poverty rate in these 34 counties was 15.5% - 17% higher than the U.S. average of 13.3%. The median 2000 per capita income in these 34 counties was $16,246 - 25% lower than the U.S. average of $21,587.

There are 404 coal-fired power plants in the U.S. with a capacity greater than 100 MW. The median 2005 poverty rate in the counties in which these 404 plants are located was 13.4% - roughly the same as the U.S. average. Here is a graph of the distribution of these 404 plants by 2005 county poverty rate:

County Poverty Rate Range	Deviation from U.S. Average	# of Plants	Total Capacity
3.8 - 6.6%	-50% to -71%	26	20,046 MW
6.7 - 9.9%	-25% to -50%	63	54,292 MW
10.0 - 13.2%	0 to -25%	106	74,001 MW
13.3 - 16.5%	0 to +25%	105	84,811 MW
16.6 - 19.9%	+25% to +50%	63	52,004 MW
20.0 - 26.6%	+50% to +100%	30	29,261 MW
26.6 - 41.7%	+100% to +214%	11	7,329 MW

However, in 2000, the median per capita income in the counties in which these 404 plants were located was $18,465 - 15% lower than the U.S. average. Here is a graph of the distribution of these 404 plants by 2000 county per capita income:

County Per Capita Income Range	Deviation from U.S. Average	# of Plants	Total Capacity
$8,986 - 12,952	-40% to -58%	6	4,600 MW
$12,953 - 17,270	-20% to -40%	141	127,049 MW
$17,271 - 21,587	0 to -20%	178	140,817 MW
$21,588 - 25,904	0 to +20%	59	42,844 MW
$25,905 - 30,222	+20% to +40%	15	9,063 MW
$30,223 - 38,550	+40% to +78%	5	2,492 MW

Out of the 404 coal power plants in the U.S. with capacity over 100 MW, 80.4% are in counties that have a lower per capita income than the U.S. average.^{[13][17][18][19]}

To a certain extent, there is an inverse relationship between poverty rates and income levels: the highest income levels tend to be in cities, where poverty rates are also high; lower income levels tend to be in rural areas, where poverty rates are also low. Thus, since most existing coal power plants are in rural areas, the poverty rates are roughly average for the U.S., even though per capita income in those areas is lower than average. However, out of the 404 U.S. coal plants with capacity over 100 MW, 82 - with a total capacity of 73,769 MW, or 22% of U.S. coal power capacity - are in counties that have poverty rates that are at least 25% higher than the U.S. average, as well as per capita income levels that are at least 20% lower than the U.S. average. These 82 plants are thus in some of the most economically devastated areas in the U.S.; 49 are in the South, 23 are in Appalachia, 32 are in counties that are either more than 25% black or more than 25% Latino, and 9 are in counties that are more than 20% Native American.

Resources

References

1. ↑ Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics website, U.S. Department of Labor, accessed July 2008.
2. ↑ Coal Data: A Reference, Energy Information Administration, 1995.
3. ↑ "Average Number of Employees by State and Mine Type", Energy Information Administration, accessed May 2008.
4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 "Coal Production and Number of Mines by State and Mine Type, 2006-2005", Energy Information Administration, accessed May 2008.
5. ↑ "Coal Data: A Reference", Energy Information Administration, 1995, pp. 65-68.
6. ↑ "Coal Industry Annual 2000", Energy Information Administration, 2000, p. 64.
7. ↑ "Annual Energy Review 2006", Energy Information Administration, 2006, p. 203.
8. ↑ "Career Guide to Industry: Mining," U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 1/09
9. ↑ "WIND ENERGY GROWS BY RECORD 8,300 MW IN 2008," American Wind Energy Association press release, 1/27/09
10. ↑ Todd Woody, "Wind jobs outstrip the coal industry," Green Wombat, 1/28/09
11. ↑ ^11.0 11.1 Virinder Singh & Jeffrey Fehrs, The Work That Goes Into Renewable Energy, Renewable Energy Policy Project, 2001, p. 26.
12. ↑ ^12.0 12.1 "Trends in Power Plant Operating Costs," Energy Information Administration, J. Alan Beamon and Thomas J. Leckey
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005, Energy Information Administration, accessed April 2008.
14. ↑ NAICS 221100 - Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution, May 2007 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2007.
15. ↑ "Easing the Exodus," Power Engineering, June 2006
16. ↑ Tom Vanden Brook, "Recruits hungry for good jobs head off to coal mines," USA TODAY, 2/14/06
17. ↑ Major U.S. Coal Mines, Energy Information Administration, accessed July 2008.
18. ↑ 2005 County-Level Poverty Rates, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, accessed July 2008.
19. ↑ Per Capita Income in 1999, Census 2000 Summary File 3, U.S. Census Bureau American Fact Finder, accessed July 2008.

Related SourceWatch Resources

• Coal phase-out
• Existing U.S. Coal Plants

External links

• "U.S. Coal Mine Employment by State, Region and Method of Mining - 2006," National Mining Association, December 2007.
• "Job Opportunities for the Green Economy," Political Economy Research Institute, June 2008 (PDF file)
• Aaron Lehmer, Renewable Energy Development Creates More Jobs than Fossil Fuels, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.
• Roger Bezdek, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Economic Drivers for the 21st Century, American Solar Energy Society, 2007.
• Sarah White & Jason Walsh, Greener Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the Clean Energy Economy, Center on Wisconsin Strategy, 2008.
• Joanna Lee et al, Green Cities, Green Jobs, Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education, 2007.
• Green for All
• "Appendix C: Wind Related Jobs and Economic Development,"
• Robert Pollin & Jeannette Wicks-Lim, "Job opportunities for the green economy," Political Economy Research Institute, June 2008
• Ted Nace, "Vapor Jobs: Big Coal's Far-Out Plan for an Economic Stimulus," Gristmill, February 18, 2009
• An Analysis of the Economic Impact of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the East Kentucky Power Cooperative Region, Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies, July 2009.