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West Virginia was the state with the most coal-mining jobs in the United States, with some * employees in 2023. The state's coal mining employment has been in decline since 2010, when just over * people were working in the sector. By comparison, there were jobs in this industry in Kentucky in 2023, which was the second-largest coal mining employer state. 

Coal-mining employment in the U.S.

Of all U.S. coal-producing regions, the Appalachian region held the most significant portion of available coal-mining jobs, amounting to over * employees in total in 2023. The total coal-mining employment in the United States reached * jobs in that same year. More than half of those jobs were in underground mines. Similarly, in West Virginia, there were * underground mining jobs and surface mining jobs as of 2022. 

U.S. mining industry employment breakdown

The entire U.S. mining industry employed some ** people (with the exclusion of the oil and gas sector, which is also considered mining) in 2022. U.S. coal mining employment increased in the early due to increases in exports and decreases within local coal mines. Decreases in productivity within the mines require more workers per unit of production. Although energy derived from coal still accounts for a large part of the United States' electricity production, the U.S. solar power industry is currently providing many more jobs than the coal mining industry.