Coal-Mining Employment Dropped In Second Quarter

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...West Virginia lost nearly 1,300 coal mining jobs in the second quarter of this year. Although coal still employs 23,300 people, new data from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration shows a 5 percent decline over the previous three months. Among the struggling producers are Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources and St. Louis-based Patriot Coal. Statewide employment remains about the same as the last full quarter of George W. Bush's presidency, and employment is up by nearly 1,800 jobs, or more than 8 percent, since the Obama administration began initiatives aimed at cracking down on mountaintop removal mining. The most recent quarter's figures show the seventh-highest number of jobs over the last 10 years, but Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, says the MSHA figures reflect what he continues to hear from industry officials that, while jobs were on the rise over the last few years, there are fears that the recent layoffs are the start of a new trend.