Thursday, February 15, 2018

Eastern Ky., region hardest hit by coal's decline, had 6 percent more coal jobs at end of 2017 than a year earlier

Eastern Kentucky, the region that has suffered the greatest job losses during the coal industry's recent slide, had 6 percent more coal jobs at the end of 2017 than a year earlier, Bill Estep reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. The estimated number of coal-industry jobs in the state's eastern coalfield was 4,055, far below historical levels. The region had 13,671 coal jobs in 2011.

"Martha Davis, who with her husband Deanie runs a trucking business based in Floyd County that primarily hauls coal, said they’ve seen improvement," Estep reports, identifying her as a supporter of President Trump: "Davis said since Trump took office, she’s bought three tractor-trailers, replacing three she sold earlier because there was no work for them." She told him, “There’s been more mines open up. At the end of 2015, we couldn’t buy a load of coal to haul.”

Coal production in Eastern Kentucky rose 9.4 percent in 2017, but statewide production was down 1.6 percent, to 42 million tons, due to a decline in the western coalfield, part of the Illinois Basin. The state. Officials and experts do not expect Appalachian Basin production to increase much if any.
Lexington Herald-Leader chart

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