The Coal Rescue Has About 39,000 Employees

The payroll the rule is meant to protect

On 14 September the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule repealing most of the Biden administration's greenhouse-gas requirements for power plants and proposed a second rule to erase the rest, arguing the Clean Air Act gives it no authority over power-sector climate pollution. The agency called it the largest power-sector deregulatory action in U.S. history and put the savings at $310 billion (Heartlander News). Reliability is the stated stake; the Department of Energy has warned that retiring dispatchable plants without replacements would multiply blackouts.

The employment books the rule would have to move are small. Seasonally adjusted national payrolls show 38.9 thousand coal-mining employees in June 2026, down from 170.5 thousand in January 1985, when the BLS series begins, and 45.5% below the 71.4 thousand of January 2001 (BLS Current Employment Statistics). The series low is 35.5 thousand, in November 2020. Coal mining was 43.2 thousand in April 2024, when the Biden-era standards were finalized, and 40.5 thousand in January 2025; it has since slipped 10.0% and 4.0%. The whole industry is about a tenth the size of the 429.5 thousand-strong electric power generation, transmission and distribution workforce.

U.S. coal-mining employment, 1985–2026

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period	value
1985-01	170.5
1985-02	172.8
1985-03	175.2
1985-04	178.3
1985-05	177.5
1985-06	177.8
1985-07	175.6
1985-08	173.8
1985-09	173.2
1985-10	171.5
1985-11	170.2
1985-12	167.8
1986-01	169.7
1986-02	169.2
1986-03	168
1986-04	168.1
1986-05	165.7
1986-06	164.1
1986-07	162.6
1986-08	160.7
1986-09	158.9
1986-10	157.6
1986-11	156.6
1986-12	154.8
1987-01	153
1987-02	152.7
1987-03	152.6
1987-04	151.1
1987-05	151.2
1987-06	149.7
1987-07	148.1
1987-08	149.5
1987-09	149.3
1987-10	149.1
1987-11	148
1987-12	147.2
1988-01	147
1988-02	147.5
1988-03	141
1988-04	139.9
1988-05	138.5
1988-06	137.5
1988-07	136.8
1988-08	136.1
1988-09	135.8
1988-10	137.2
1988-11	135.7
1988-12	135.8
1989-01	136.4
1989-02	135.5
1989-03	135.8
1989-04	134.9
1989-05	135.1
1989-06	124.6
1989-07	112.3
1989-08	136.8
1989-09	136.7
1989-10	136.3
1989-11	136.8
1989-12	136.2
1990-01	136.2
1990-02	136
1990-03	136.5
1990-04	137.4
1990-05	138.8
1990-06	138.5
1990-07	136.9
1990-08	136.4
1990-09	135.4
1990-10	134.7
1990-11	133.4
1990-12	132.8
1991-01	131
1991-02	130.5
1991-03	129.2
1991-04	127.8
1991-05	127.1
1991-06	125.2
1991-07	124.4
1991-08	123.6
1991-09	122.8
1991-10	122.6
1991-11	122.3
1991-12	121.4
1992-01	120.5
1992-02	119.3
1992-03	119
1992-04	118.7
1992-05	118.4
1992-06	118.4
1992-07	118.5
1992-08	118.5
1992-09	116.9
1992-10	115.5
1992-11	114.3
1992-12	112.9
1993-01	112.4
1993-02	106.3
1993-03	110.3
1993-04	110
1993-05	108.6
1993-06	100.2
1993-07	94.4
1993-08	89.3
1993-09	88.9
1993-10	88.5
1993-11	88.2
1993-12	104.9
1994-01	105.2
1994-02	105.2
1994-03	105
1994-04	104.3
1994-05	103.9
1994-06	104.7
1994-07	103.7
1994-08	103.2
1994-09	101.5
1994-10	101.7
1994-11	101.9
1994-12	102
1995-01	100.5
1995-02	99.2
1995-03	99.4
1995-04	98.5
1995-05	97.2
1995-06	96.2
1995-07	96
1995-08	95.7
1995-09	95.4
1995-10	94.9
1995-11	94
1995-12	92.8
1996-01	91.5
1996-02	91.4
1996-03	90.6
1996-04	90.4
1996-05	90.5
1996-06	90.8
1996-07	90.9
1996-08	90.2
1996-09	90.1
1996-10	90
1996-11	89.9
1996-12	89.6
1997-01	90.1
1997-02	89.8
1997-03	89.9
1997-04	90.3
1997-05	90.4
1997-06	90.3
1997-07	89.6
1997-08	89.3
1997-09	89.1
1997-10	88.8
1997-11	87.7
1997-12	87.9
1998-01	87.6
1998-02	87.4
1998-03	87.2
1998-04	86.8
1998-05	86.4
1998-06	85.3
1998-07	83.9
1998-08	84.4
1998-09	83.8
1998-10	83.3
1998-11	83.8
1998-12	83.9
1999-01	83.3
1999-02	82.4
1999-03	81.6
1999-04	80.2
1999-05	79.5
1999-06	78.7
1999-07	78
1999-08	77.4
1999-09	76.2
1999-10	75.6
1999-11	75.2
1999-12	75
2000-01	73.7
2000-02	73.2
2000-03	72.9
2000-04	73.3
2000-05	73.1
2000-06	71.2
2000-07	71.2
2000-08	71.3
2000-09	71.7
2000-10	71.6
2000-11	71.2
2000-12	71
2001-01	71.4
2001-02	72
2001-03	72.6
2001-04	72.6
2001-05	73.3
2001-06	74.2
2001-07	74.8
2001-08	75.1
2001-09	75.6
2001-10	76.6
2001-11	76.7
2001-12	77.3
2002-01	77.6
2002-02	76.9
2002-03	76.2
2002-04	75.5
2002-05	74.9
2002-06	73.9
2002-07	73.2
2002-08	73.2
2002-09	73.4
2002-10	72.7
2002-11	73.1
2002-12	72.3
2003-01	71.3
2003-02	70.9
2003-03	70.8
2003-04	70.7
2003-05	70.1
2003-06	70.2
2003-07	70.7
2003-08	69.9
2003-09	68.5
2003-10	69
2003-11	68.8
2003-12	68.9
2004-01	68.4
2004-02	68.8
2004-03	69
2004-04	69.6
2004-05	70.8
2004-06	71.1
2004-07	72
2004-08	72.1
2004-09	71.5
2004-10	70.7
2004-11	71.2
2004-12	71.1
2005-01	72.4
2005-02	72.5
2005-03	72.1
2005-04	72.9
2005-05	73
2005-06	73.9
2005-07	74.2
2005-08	74.1
2005-09	74.9
2005-10	75.2
2005-11	75.4
2005-12	75.8
2006-01	76.3
2006-02	77.6
2006-03	78.7
2006-04	79
2006-05	78.7
2006-06	78.5
2006-07	78.2
2006-08	78
2006-09	77.7
2006-10	77.9
2006-11	77.2
2006-12	77.9
2007-01	77.7
2007-02	77
2007-03	77
2007-04	77.6
2007-05	76.6
2007-06	76.8
2007-07	77.3
2007-08	77
2007-09	77.1
2007-10	77.2
2007-11	77.5
2007-12	77.2
2008-01	77.4
2008-02	77.3
2008-03	77.6
2008-04	78.2
2008-05	79.4
2008-06	80.2
2008-07	80.5
2008-08	82.8
2008-09	83.6
2008-10	84.9
2008-11	86
2008-12	86.3
2009-01	86.4
2009-02	85.9
2009-03	85.2
2009-04	83.9
2009-05	82.2
2009-06	81
2009-07	79.8
2009-08	79.9
2009-09	79.4
2009-10	78.3
2009-11	77.8
2009-12	77.7
2010-01	77.8
2010-02	78.7
2010-03	79.1
2010-04	79.2
2010-05	80.2
2010-06	80.2
2010-07	80.6
2010-08	81
2010-09	81.9
2010-10	82.8
2010-11	83.4
2010-12	84
2011-01	83.9
2011-02	83.3
2011-03	84.3
2011-04	85.9
2011-05	87.6
2011-06	88.2
2011-07	87.6
2011-08	88.7
2011-09	89.2
2011-10	89.4
2011-11	89.6
2011-12	89.3
2012-01	89.7
2012-02	89.4
2012-03	89
2012-04	88.1
2012-05	87.7
2012-06	85.9
2012-07	84.5
2012-08	83
2012-09	81.5
2012-10	79.3
2012-11	78.9
2012-12	78.7
2013-01	78.4
2013-02	79.4
2013-03	79.5
2013-04	77.8
2013-05	78.7
2013-06	78.8
2013-07	78.2
2013-08	78
2013-09	77.2
2013-10	77.2
2013-11	76.9
2013-12	76.8
2014-01	76
2014-02	75
2014-03	73.6
2014-04	73.8
2014-05	74
2014-06	74
2014-07	74.2
2014-08	73.2
2014-09	72.7
2014-10	71.3
2014-11	70.8
2014-12	69.9
2015-01	69
2015-02	68.6
2015-03	68
2015-04	67
2015-05	65.9
2015-06	64.9
2015-07	64.2
2015-08	62.7
2015-09	61.7
2015-10	60.5
2015-11	59
2015-12	57.3
2016-01	55.6
2016-02	53.5
2016-03	52.2
2016-04	51.1
2016-05	49.9
2016-06	49.1
2016-07	48.8
2016-08	48.7
2016-09	48.8
2016-10	49.6
2016-11	50.4
2016-12	50.5
2017-01	51
2017-02	51.2
2017-03	51.2
2017-04	51.5
2017-05	51.6
2017-06	51.5
2017-07	51.4
2017-08	51.8
2017-09	52.1
2017-10	51.9
2017-11	51.4
2017-12	51
2018-01	51.1
2018-02	51.2
2018-03	50.9
2018-04	51.8
2018-05	51.9
2018-06	51.9
2018-07	51.8
2018-08	51.6
2018-09	51.3
2018-10	51.4
2018-11	51.7
2018-12	52.2
2019-01	52.2
2019-02	52.2
2019-03	52.2
2019-04	51.1
2019-05	51.3
2019-06	50.9
2019-07	49.6
2019-08	50.3
2019-09	49.9
2019-10	49.3
2019-11	49.3
2019-12	47.8
2020-01	47.1
2020-02	46
2020-03	45.1
2020-04	37.2
2020-05	39.1
2020-06	38.6
2020-07	38.7
2020-08	38.2
2020-09	38.1
2020-10	36
2020-11	35.5
2020-12	38.2
2021-01	38
2021-02	37.9
2021-03	37.7
2021-04	36.7
2021-05	37.1
2021-06	36.5
2021-07	36.1
2021-08	37.6
2021-09	37.7
2021-10	38.1
2021-11	38.2
2021-12	38.7
2022-01	39.3
2022-02	39.6
2022-03	40
2022-04	40.2
2022-05	41
2022-06	41.1
2022-07	41.2
2022-08	41.1
2022-09	41.6
2022-10	41.8
2022-11	42.1
2022-12	42.1
2023-01	42.3
2023-02	42.6
2023-03	42.8
2023-04	42.9
2023-05	42.8
2023-06	42.7
2023-07	43
2023-08	42.7
2023-09	42.6
2023-10	41.9
2023-11	42.2
2023-12	42.2
2024-01	42.3
2024-02	42.4
2024-03	42.3
2024-04	43.2
2024-05	42.8
2024-06	43
2024-07	42.6
2024-08	41.8
2024-09	41.8
2024-10	41.3
2024-11	41.7
2024-12	41
2025-01	40.5
2025-02	40.3
2025-03	40.1
2025-04	40
2025-05	40
2025-06	39.9
2025-07	39.6
2025-08	39.5
2025-09	39.3
2025-10	39.3
2025-11	40
2025-12	39.5
2026-01	39.1
2026-02	38.9
2026-03	38.4
2026-04	38.4
2026-05	38.3
2026-06	38.9

The decline outlived several energy plans

Coal mining's post-1985 peak was 178.3 thousand in April 1985, with a more recent peak of 85.9 thousand in June 2012. The steepest short episode came between January 2015 and July 2016, when employment fell 29.3%, from 69.0 thousand to 48.8 thousand, as gas-fired generation and weak export demand reshaped the fuel market; the pandemic brought a second jolt, from 45.1 thousand in March 2020 to 37.2 thousand in April 2020. None of that can be attributed to the 2024 rule, which did not yet exist.

Indexed to January 2001, coal mining is down 45.5%, fossil-fuel electric power generation 34.5%, electric power generation 17.3% and oil and gas extraction 6.8% after peaking 63% above its 2001 level in October 2014. Two cautions follow: payroll counts are jobs, not tonnes, and the comparison is descriptive co-movement with fuel-market cycles, not proof of what any single policy did.

Four energy workforces since 2001, indexed

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period	coal	oilgas	powergen	fossilpower
2001-01	100	100	100	100
2001-02	100.8	99.5	100	100
2001-03	101.7	99.9	99.7	99.7
2001-04	101.7	100	99.4	99.3
2001-05	102.7	100.2	99.4	99.2
2001-06	103.9	99.9	99.4	99.2
2001-07	104.8	100.6	98.5	98
2001-08	105.2	100.6	98.5	98.1
2001-09	105.9	101	98.5	97.8
2001-10	107.3	99.6	98.1	97
2001-11	107.4	100.3	99.1	98.4
2001-12	108.3	101	99	98.2
2002-01	108.7	100.9	99.1	98.2
2002-02	107.7	101.6	98.8	98.2
2002-03	106.7	100	98.9	98.3
2002-04	105.7	98.7	98.6	98.2
2002-05	104.9	98.7	98.8	98.4
2002-06	103.5	98.5	98.3	97.7
2002-07	102.5	97.9	97.7	97.3
2002-08	102.5	98.1	97.1	96.9
2002-09	102.8	97.2	96.7	96.5
2002-10	101.8	97.7	96.6	96.4
2002-11	102.4	98	95.6	95.5
2002-12	101.3	97.7	94.8	94.9
2003-01	99.9	97.9	93.4	93.6
2003-02	99.3	97.6	93.4	93.5
2003-03	99.2	97.9	93	93.1
2003-04	99	98.1	92.3	92.4
2003-05	98.2	98.1	91.5	91.8
2003-06	98.3	98.1	91.2	91.5
2003-07	99	97.5	91.1	91.1
2003-08	97.9	96.8	90.7	90.5
2003-09	95.9	96.7	90.6	90.1
2003-10	96.6	96.5	90.4	89.9
2003-11	96.4	96	89.9	89.6
2003-12	96.5	95.9	89.9	89.2
2004-01	95.8	97	89.8	89.1
2004-02	96.4	98.1	89.7	89.1
2004-03	96.6	98.3	89.7	89
2004-04	97.5	99.5	89.9	89.1
2004-05	99.2	100.6	89.7	89
2004-06	99.6	100.1	89.5	89
2004-07	100.8	100	89	88.5
2004-08	101	100.6	88.7	88.5
2004-09	100.1	101.2	88.5	88.5
2004-10	99	100.6	88	88.1
2004-11	99.7	101	87.7	87.9
2004-12	99.6	101	87.5	87.2
2005-01	101.4	100.5	87.4	87.7
2005-02	101.5	99.7	87.2	87.6
2005-03	101	100.9	86.8	86.9
2005-04	102.1	100.9	86.3	86.7
2005-05	102.2	101.4	86.3	86.7
2005-06	103.5	101.2	85.9	86.5
2005-07	103.9	101.8	86.1	86.3
2005-08	103.8	102	86.3	86.8
2005-09	104.9	102.7	86.2	87
2005-10	105.3	103.1	86.2	87.2
2005-11	105.6	104	86	87.2
2005-12	106.2	103.7	85.6	87.2
2006-01	106.9	104.3	85.3	86.7
2006-02	108.7	105.3	85.6	87.8
2006-03	110.2	106.2	85.2	87.2
2006-04	110.6	107.5	85.5	87.9
2006-05	110.2	107.8	85.1	87.1
2006-06	109.9	109.1	84.7	86.9
2006-07	109.5	109.4	84.9	87.2
2006-08	109.2	110.8	84.8	86.9
2006-09	108.8	110.7	84.8	87
2006-10	109.1	112	84.2	85.9
2006-11	108.1	112	84.2	85.9
2006-12	109.1	112.9	84.2	85.7
2007-01	108.8	113.9	84.2	85.8
2007-02	107.8	114.7	84.1	85.5
2007-03	107.8	115.6	84.1	85.7
2007-04	108.7	116.4	84.4	86.2
2007-05	107.3	116.6	84.3	86.3
2007-06	107.6	117.7	84.5	86.5
2007-07	108.3	118.6	84.6	87
2007-08	107.8	119	84.6	87.2
2007-09	108	119.2	84.4	87
2007-10	108.1	120.9	84.6	87.4
2007-11	108.5	123	84.5	87.3
2007-12	108.1	124.3	84.8	87.8
2008-01	108.4	125.3	84.6	87.7
2008-02	108.3	125.5	84.6	87.8
2008-03	108.7	126.5	84.8	88.1
2008-04	109.5	124.7	84.6	87.9
2008-05	111.2	128.6	84.7	88
2008-06	112.3	129.5	84.9	88.1
2008-07	112.7	130.9	85.2	88.3
2008-08	116	132.2	85.1	88.1
2008-09	117.1	133.1	85.4	88.6
2008-10	118.9	133	85.4	88.5
2008-11	120.4	133.8	85.9	89
2008-12	120.9	135.3	85.9	88.7
2009-01	121	133.7	86	88.8
2009-02	120.3	133.1	85.9	88.7
2009-03	119.3	131.7	85.7	88.5
2009-04	117.5	130.2	85.4	88.2
2009-05	115.1	130	85.4	88.1
2009-06	113.4	130	85.9	88.2
2009-07	111.8	129.2	86	88.2
2009-08	111.9	127.9	86.3	88.4
2009-09	111.2	127.7	86.5	88.5
2009-10	109.7	127.4	86.7	88.6
2009-11	109	127	86.7	88.6
2009-12	108.8	125.7	86.6	88.7
2010-01	109	126.7	86.7	88.7
2010-02	110.2	126.6	86.7	88.8
2010-03	110.8	126.9	86.8	88.6
2010-04	110.9	127.6	86.9	88.8
2010-05	112.3	128.5	87	88.6
2010-06	112.3	128	86.6	88.5
2010-07	112.9	128.3	86.2	87.5
2010-08	113.4	129.3	86.1	87.8
2010-09	114.7	129.7	86	87.7
2010-10	116	130.8	86.2	87.8
2010-11	116.8	130.7	85.8	87.8
2010-12	117.6	130.4	85.9	87.8
2011-01	117.5	131.7	86	87.9
2011-02	116.7	133	86.7	88.4
2011-03	118.1	135	86	87.8
2011-04	120.3	137.3	86	87.7
2011-05	122.7	138	85.9	87.7
2011-06	123.5	138.6	85.6	87.2
2011-07	122.7	139.8	85.4	87.2
2011-08	124.2	140.8	85.4	87.4
2011-09	124.9	142.9	85.3	87.2
2011-10	125.2	144.1	85.2	87.2
2011-11	125.5	144.7	85.2	87.2
2011-12	125.1	146	84.9	87.3
2012-01	125.6	146.8	84.5	87
2012-02	125.2	147.7	84.5	87.1
2012-03	124.6	149.6	84.2	86.6
2012-04	123.4	150.2	84.2	86.5
2012-05	122.8	151.1	84.3	86.5
2012-06	120.3	152.4	84.1	86.2
2012-07	118.3	152.8	84.3	86.2
2012-08	116.2	153.3	84.3	86.4
2012-09	114.1	153.3	84.6	86.4
2012-10	111.1	153.1	84.6	86.5
2012-11	110.5	153.6	84.1	86.5
2012-12	110.2	155.1	84.2	86.6
2013-01	109.8	156.4	84.2	86.5
2013-02	111.2	157.5	84.1	86.4
2013-03	111.3	156.8	83.5	85.2
2013-04	109	157.3	84.1	86.5
2013-05	110.2	156.7	84.1	86.6
2013-06	110.4	156.2	84.2	87.3
2013-07	109.5	156.4	84.2	87.4
2013-08	109.2	156.7	83.7	87.1
2013-09	108.1	156.5	83.4	86.7
2013-10	108.1	156	83.2	86.3
2013-11	107.7	156.7	83	86.1
2013-12	107.6	156.4	82.4	85.7
2014-01	106.4	157	82.3	85.7
2014-02	105	158.3	82.3	85.6
2014-03	103.1	156.5	82.5	86
2014-04	103.4	158.1	82.1	86
2014-05	103.6	159.3	82	85.8
2014-06	103.6	160.4	82.1	85.8
2014-07	103.9	160.7	81.6	84.9
2014-08	102.5	160.4	81.4	84.3
2014-09	101.8	161	81	84.1
2014-10	99.9	162.6	80.9	83.9
2014-11	99.2	162.5	80.9	83.5
2014-12	97.9	162.4	80.5	82.7
2015-01	96.6	161	81	83.3
2015-02	96.1	159.8	80.9	83.1
2015-03	95.2	159.1	81.1	83.6
2015-04	93.8	157.7	81.2	83.2
2015-05	92.3	157.2	81.9	84.4
2015-06	90.9	157	81.3	83.2
2015-07	89.9	157.5	81.4	83.4
2015-08	87.8	156.7	81.3	83
2015-09	86.4	155.9	81.4	83.1
2015-10	84.7	153.8	81.4	83
2015-11	82.6	152.8	81.3	82.5
2015-12	80.3	152	81.4	82.8
2016-01	77.9	151.7	81.5	82.7
2016-02	74.9	149.9	81.4	82.6
2016-03	73.1	147.6	81.2	82.4
2016-04	71.6	144.5	81.2	82.2
2016-05	69.9	141.5	81.1	81.9
2016-06	68.8	137.6	81.2	81.9
2016-07	68.3	135.1	81.1	82
2016-08	68.2	133.1	81.1	82
2016-09	68.3	130.2	80.8	81.8
2016-10	69.5	128.4	80.8	81.6
2016-11	70.6	127.1	80.9	81.5
2016-12	70.7	123.7	80.9	81.6
2017-01	71.4	120.7	80.7	81.1
2017-02	71.7	119.8	80.8	81.2
2017-03	71.7	116.8	80.9	81.2
2017-04	72.1	117.4	80.2	80.5
2017-05	72.3	116.8	79.7	79.9
2017-06	72.1	116.2	79.5	79.3
2017-07	72	115.6	79.2	78.9
2017-08	72.5	115	79	78.8
2017-09	73	116.3	79.2	79.1
2017-10	72.7	115.1	79	79.2
2017-11	72	114.7	78.9	78.7
2017-12	71.4	113	78.9	78.6
2018-01	71.6	114.2	78.9	78.4
2018-02	71.7	113.8	78.8	78.2
2018-03	71.3	115.3	78.8	78
2018-04	72.5	115.5	79	78
2018-05	72.7	116	78.3	77.8
2018-06	72.7	116.6	77.7	77.5
2018-07	72.5	116.4	77.2	76.5
2018-08	72.3	115.6	77.2	76.4
2018-09	71.8	114.5	77.2	75.8
2018-10	72	114.3	77.2	75.2
2018-11	72.4	114.7	76.9	74.9
2018-12	73.1	114.3	76.4	74.3
2019-01	73.1	114.9	76.2	74.2
2019-02	73.1	116	75	73.3
2019-03	73.1	116	74.9	72.6
2019-04	71.6	116.8	74.4	72
2019-05	71.8	117.2	74.6	72
2019-06	71.3	117.4	74.8	71.8
2019-07	69.5	116.6	75	72
2019-08	70.4	116.9	74.7	71.9
2019-09	69.9	116.6	74.3	71.5
2019-10	69	116.1	73.8	71.4
2019-11	69	114.8	73.8	71.6
2019-12	66.9	114.9	73.6	70.9
2020-01	66	111.3	73.2	70.8
2020-02	64.4	110.5	73.1	70
2020-03	63.2	108.8	73.2	70.4
2020-04	52.1	107.1	72.7	69.8
2020-05	54.8	104.9	72.5	69.2
2020-06	54.1	103.5	72.5	68.8
2020-07	54.2	103.1	72.5	68.9
2020-08	53.5	102.3	72.6	69
2020-09	53.4	102.7	72.8	69
2020-10	50.4	102.8	72.3	68.4
2020-11	49.7	102.4	72.1	68.2
2020-12	53.5	102.5	71.8	67.9
2021-01	53.2	92.1	71.9	67.5
2021-02	53.1	91.1	71.9	67.7
2021-03	52.8	91.7	72.1	67.8
2021-04	51.4	91.7	72.5	67.1
2021-05	52	91.3	72.8	67.8
2021-06	51.1	90.6	72.7	67.1
2021-07	50.6	90.1	72.4	66.8
2021-08	52.7	90.3	71.6	66.3
2021-09	52.8	90.2	71.9	66.3
2021-10	53.4	90.1	71.6	65.5
2021-11	53.5	89.8	71.8	65
2021-12	54.2	90.1	71.9	65
2022-01	55	89.8	72.3	64.8
2022-02	55.5	90.4	72.6	64.8
2022-03	56	90.9	72.7	64.3
2022-04	56.3	96.1	73.1	64.5
2022-05	57.4	97	73.3	64.5
2022-06	57.6	98.2	74.1	64.2
2022-07	57.7	99.3	74.6	64.2
2022-08	57.6	93.3	75.1	64.4
2022-09	58.3	93.4	75.1	64.6
2022-10	58.5	93.8	75.6	64.8
2022-11	59	94.1	76	65.2
2022-12	59	93.9	75.9	65
2023-01	59.2	94	75.7	65.1
2023-02	59.7	94.1	76.1	64.9
2023-03	59.9	93.8	77.1	65.6
2023-04	60.1	94.6	76.9	65.3
2023-05	59.9	95.3	76.4	64.9
2023-06	59.8	95.2	76	64.9
2023-07	60.2	95.6	75.3	64.9
2023-08	59.8	96.5	76.3	65
2023-09	59.7	96.8	76.9	64.6
2023-10	58.7	97.2	77.8	65.2
2023-11	59.1	97.2	78.4	65.3
2023-12	59.1	98.1	79.1	65
2024-01	59.2	98.8	79.5	65
2024-02	59.4	98.8	79.9	65
2024-03	59.2	98.9	79.4	64.8
2024-04	60.5	98.1	79.6	64.8
2024-05	59.9	98.5	79.6	64.9
2024-06	60.2	99	79.8	65.2
2024-07	59.7	98.5	80.1	64.8
2024-08	58.5	97.9	80.2	64.5
2024-09	58.5	97.9	80.3	64.5
2024-10	57.8	97.6	80.3	64.4
2024-11	58.4	97.9	80.3	64.1
2024-12	57.4	97.4	80.1	64.1
2025-01	56.7	97	80.2	64.3
2025-02	56.4	96.3	80.4	64.3
2025-03	56.2	95.7	80.6	64.1
2025-04	56	96.1	80.6	63.7
2025-05	56	96	81.2	64.1
2025-06	55.9	95.4	81.4	64.1
2025-07	55.5	94.9	81.7	64.5
2025-08	55.3	93.8	81	64.4
2025-09	55	93.8	80.8	64.2
2025-10	55	93.7	81	64.2
2025-11	56	94.3	81.5	64.6
2025-12	55.3	94.3	82.2	65
2026-01	54.8	93.5	82.3	65.4
2026-02	54.5	94.1	82.4	65.3
2026-03	53.8	93.8	82.3	65
2026-04	53.8	93.3	82.8	65.1
2026-05	53.6	93.4	82.7	65.3
2026-06	54.5	93.2	82.7	65.5

Where the remaining jobs actually are

Between annual averages for 2001 and 2025, Kentucky's coal-mining employment fell 81.0% to 2.9 thousand and Pennsylvania's 45.2% to 4.6 thousand; Wyoming fell 20.9% to 3.4 thousand, and West Virginia's broader mining-and-logging payroll — it publishes no coal-only series — fell 13.2% to 20.4 thousand, the largest remaining payroll in the group (BLS State and Area Employment). Underground mines employed 21.4 thousand in June 2026 and surface mines 17.5 thousand, both roughly half their January 2001 levels.

For a policy argued in terms of plants and communities, the geography is awkward: the deepest mining dependence sits in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Wyoming, while the coal fleet the rules target is scattered much more widely. The number of people a mining revival would reach is small, and it is not where most coal-fired capacity sits.

Where coal employment fell furthest since 2001

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label	pct_change	level_2025
Kentucky (coal mining)	-81	2.9
Pennsylvania (coal mining)	-45.2	4.6
Wyoming (coal mining)	-20.9	3.4
West Virginia (mining & logging)	-13.2	20.4

Underground versus surface coal-mining employment

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year	underground	surface
2001	40.7	33.6
2002	39.3	35.1
2003	36.4	33.6
2004	36.1	34.5
2005	38.4	35.5
2006	40.5	37.5
2007	39.6	37.5
2008	42	39.2
2009	42.7	38.8
2010	43.5	37.2
2011	46.9	40.3
2012	46	38.6
2013	42.6	35.4
2014	39.9	33.3
2015	33.9	30.2
2016	25.7	25
2017	26.5	24.9
2018	26.9	24.7
2019	27	23.4
2020	22.1	17.8
2021	20.4	17.1
2022	21.5	19.4
2023	23.2	19.3
2024	23.6	18.6
2025	22.1	17.8
2026	21.1	17.5

What has moved since January 2025

Between January 2025 and June 2026 the electricity workforce grew while coal kept shrinking: electric power generation, transmission and distribution added 12.0 thousand jobs, electric power generation 5.0 thousand and fossil-fuel power generation 1.4 thousand, while coal mining lost 1.6 thousand and oil and gas extraction 4.7 thousand.

That is consistent with a grid building for higher demand rather than idling, but it is not evidence about the repeal: the final rule was announced after the last month in these series. If the political promise is a coal revival, the arithmetic of who would be revived is modest and concentrated; if the promise is grid reliability, employment data are the wrong scoreboard.

Net employment change since January 2025, five energy industries

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industry	net_change	level_jan2025	level_jun2026
Oil & gas extraction	-4.7	119.8	115.1
Coal mining	-1.6	40.5	38.9
Fossil-fuel power generation	1.4	74.1	75.5
Electric power generation	5	157.1	162.1
Electric power gen, transmission & distribution	12	417.5	429.5

How to read this, and what to watch

These are payroll statistics, not production, retirements or emissions. National figures come from BLS Current Employment Statistics industry series ending June 2026 with the latest month preliminary; state figures from BLS State and Area Employment, where coal detail exists for Kentucky, Wyoming and Pennsylvania but not West Virginia. Three things would change the picture: coming monthly payroll releases, especially in fossil-fuel generation; coal production and mine-level counts; and a coal-specific West Virginia measure. Until then, the industry whose rescue is being debated employs about 39,000 people — roughly half as many as in 2001 and about a tenth as many as the grid workforce it feeds.