With a yearslong steady decline of Wyoming coal production setting up 2024 to come in less than 200 million tons for the first time in 32 years, the workforce mining that coal also continues to shrink.
Through the third quarter of this year, employment at Wyoming coal mines is down almost 8% from the end of 2023, according to the federal Mine Health and Safety Administration.
Since 2017, there are 25% fewer Cowboy State coal jobs, the agency reports.
There are 4,266 coal mine jobs as of the end of September, 355 fewer than the end of last year and down 1,432 from the end of 2017.
Like the drop in production, the loss of high-paying Wyoming coal jobs can largely be traced to the marketplace, where natural gas is cheaper to burn than coal to produce much of America’s electricity.
“You look over the last decade or so, a lot of it has been low-cost natural gas, which is our major competitor,” said Travis Deti, executive director for the Wyoming Mining Association. “It’s just tough when natural gas has been below that threshold. That’s pretty much the driver.”
While coal jobs are down 7.7% overall from the end of 2023, Wyoming’s largest mine has held steady. Peabody Energy-owned North Antelope Rochelle mine (NARM) reports a workforce of 1,224, about the same as the end of last year.
But the second largest mine, Black Thunder owned by Arch Natural Resources, is down about 10%, from 1,009 workers to 904.
In 2017, NARM and Black Thunder respectively employed 1,375 and 1,220.
Domino Effect
That decline over time adds up, said David Bullard, senior economist for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Research and Planning. While the 7.7% dip in coal jobs so far this year is significant, when that happens year after year it can add up quickly.
“Coal employment has been decreasing for some time now, and it continues to decrease,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “I wouldn’t say it’s accelerating recently, but it’s steadily declining.”
It’s part of a trend that has seen Wyoming lose 10,000 jobs in the extraction industries — mining, oil and gas — over the last decade.
What also doesn’t show up in the MHSA quarterly coal reports is the trickle-down effect the coal mines have on other businesses that service them, Bullard said.
Less production and fewer workers also means less business for local welders, electricians, well service companies and others that contract with the mines and employ more of the local workforce, he said.
‘Resilient’ Workers
While coal mines may be employing fewer people, there are other industries that value the skills they have, Deti said.
“Our workforce, they are resilient and they are adaptable, and there’s a lot of oil and gas at play where they can work at. They can go to the trona mines in the southwest part of the state.”
Even with the long decline, Deti said there’s plenty of life left in Wyoming coal, that that innovations in the industry and new fossil fuel-friendly federal policies could open avenues that could mean more jobs for that sector.
“Folks have been writing the obituary for the Wyoming coal industry for a long time,” he said. “We’ve had some changes now at the federal level, and the state of Wyoming has been doing a lot of things to (bolster) our industry.
“Everyone wants the coal industry to remain strong. There are good jobs there, they are generational jobs and it’s part of the culture. And we want to see that continue.”
That won’t happen without taking advantage of things like carbon capture and putting that captured carbon dioxide to work for enhance oil recovery, Deti said.
“That could open up a lot of doors for us, he said.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
