National coal mining employment declined 2.2% year-on-year through the first 10 months of 2013, including a 24% employment rate decrease in Kentucky, according to US Bureau of Labor statistics included in the latest monthly US Energy Information Administration Short-Term Energy Outlook, released Wednesday.
The decrease in coal mining employment in Kentucky in 2013 has been a long-term trend, with employment falling by about 13% from 2008-2012. Eastern Kentucky, in particular, has been hard hit by the weak market conditions for Central Appalachian coal.
Kentucky mines employed 18,634 workers in 2011, about 20.3% of the total US coal mining workforce, according to data from the National Mining Association.
Coal production was down in nearly every coal-producing region, based on preliminary data for the first eight months of the year, with the largest decline in the Appalachian region, down 7%, EIA said.
Within that region, Central Appalachian production was down 12%
EIA, citing data from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, said employment at the state's coal mines was at its lowest level since the data was first collected in 1927. In the two years since July 2011, the KEEC reported employment at Eastern Kentucky (CAPP) mines fell by nearly 42%.
In stark contrast, Western Kentucky (Illinois Basin) mines saw employment fall only 2% over the same period.
"There are signs that the shift in production will continue as several power generators have announced plans to shift from CAP coal to cheaper, though higher in sulfur content, ILB coal," EIA said. "Retrofitting of coal-fired generating units with flue-gas desulfurization, or scrubbers, contributes to this shift to higher-sulfur coal."
EIA estimates that Appalachian coal production will total 285.4 million st in 2013, down from 294.1 million in 2012. Production in 2014 is forecast at 292.9 million st.