Five-second answer

Claim we investigated

Kentucky has lost more than 80 percent of its coal mining jobs since 1990.

True. Coal employment fell from more than 29,000 around 1990 to about 3,600 by late 2025. Federal wage-record data compiled by Kentucky's statistics agency put the peak above 29,000 jobs around 1990, while the state Energy and Environment Cabinet counted 4,008 coal workers in early 2025 and about 3,600 by the fourth quarter, and a separate federal payroll survey shows 2,900 for 2025.

Quote or cite this fact-check

FactHub rates the claim “Kentucky has lost more than 80 percent of its coal mining jobs since 1990” True (high confidence): Coal employment fell from more than 29,000 around 1990 to about 3,600 by late 2025. Reviewed October 13, 2026. https://facthub.org/n/article/ky-coal-jobs-decline/2

One-minute summary

What the evidence establishes

  • Kentucky coal mining employment peaked at more than 29,000 jobs around 1990, when the state led the nation in coal jobs.
  • Jobs fell to 13,259 by December 2000, rebounded to nearly 17,000 by late 2011, then declined again.
  • The state counted 4,008 coal workers in early 2025 and about 3,600 in the fourth quarter of 2025, the lowest on record.
  • The federal payroll survey puts Kentucky's 2025 coal mining employment at 2,900.
  • Every recent figure is a decline of 86 to 90 percent from the peak.
Important context: Coal employment counts differ by source. The state Energy and Environment Cabinet counts workers at mines, preparation plants and coal offices, while federal payroll surveys classify workers by employer industry, so the two give somewhat different totals for the same year. Every source we checked shows a decline of well over 80 percent from the early 1990s.

The evidence

The conclusion rests on the combined record. Expand each item to see its role and limitations.

Independence note: This check uses 3 methods across 5 institutions and 1 country or international grouping.
Evidence map
Method Institution / country Year(s) What it shows Key limitation Primary links
Administrative wage-record data (Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages) Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics United States 1990, 2000, 2011, 2020, 2023 A February 2024 KYSTATS analysis, built on BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data, reports that coal mining employment peaked at more than 29,000 jobs, with Kentucky leading the nation in coal mining jobs in 1990. It fell to 13,259 in December 2000, rose to nearly 17,000 by the end of 2011, and dropped to 2,406 in early 2020 during the pandemic downturn. The analysis gives the peak only as more than 29,000 and does not state its exact year or month. QCEW classifies jobs by employer industry, so it may miss contractors working at mines. Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS)
State quarterly coal industry report Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Office of Energy Policy, WEKU (Eastern Kentucky University public radio) United States 2025 The Cabinet's report for the first quarter of 2025 counts 4,008 coal workers statewide: 2,504 in eastern Kentucky and 1,504 in western Kentucky, including 2,314 underground, 936 surface, 565 preparation plant and 193 office workers. WEKU's February 2026 report on the Cabinet's fourth-quarter 2025 data puts statewide coal employment at about 3,600, the lowest on record and nearly 10 percent below a year earlier. The fourth-quarter figure comes from a news report of the state's dashboard rather than the dashboard itself. The Cabinet's counting method differs from the federal surveys, so its figures are not directly comparable to the 1990 QCEW peak. Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet WEKU
Monthly establishment payroll survey (Current Employment Statistics) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) United States 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 The BLS State and Metro Area Employment series for Kentucky coal mining, published on FRED, shows annual averages of 3,500 in 2021, 3,800 in 2022, 3,900 in 2023, 3,500 in 2024 and 2,900 in 2025. Figures are survey estimates rounded to hundreds and subject to revision. This series is a different survey from the QCEW used for the 1990 peak, so we use it to confirm the recent level rather than to compute the decline. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED
1. State statistics agency's long-run series shows a peak above 29,000

A February 2024 KYSTATS analysis, built on BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data, reports that coal mining employment peaked at more than 29,000 jobs, with Kentucky leading the nation in coal mining jobs in 1990. It fell to 13,259 in December 2000, rose to nearly 17,000 by the end of 2011, and dropped to 2,406 in early 2020 during the pandemic downturn.

Limit: The analysis gives the peak only as more than 29,000 and does not state its exact year or month. QCEW classifies jobs by employer industry, so it may miss contractors working at mines.

Verify: Employment Outcomes of Separated Coal Workers in Kentucky

2. State coal reports count about 4,000 workers in early 2025 and 3,600 by year-end

The Cabinet's report for the first quarter of 2025 counts 4,008 coal workers statewide: 2,504 in eastern Kentucky and 1,504 in western Kentucky, including 2,314 underground, 936 surface, 565 preparation plant and 193 office workers. WEKU's February 2026 report on the Cabinet's fourth-quarter 2025 data puts statewide coal employment at about 3,600, the lowest on record and nearly 10 percent below a year earlier.

Limit: The fourth-quarter figure comes from a news report of the state's dashboard rather than the dashboard itself. The Cabinet's counting method differs from the federal surveys, so its figures are not directly comparable to the 1990 QCEW peak.

Verify: Kentucky Quarterly Coal Report, 2025 Q1 Kentucky coal production rises in 4th quarter, while employment declines

3. Federal payroll survey shows 2,900 coal mining jobs in 2025

The BLS State and Metro Area Employment series for Kentucky coal mining, published on FRED, shows annual averages of 3,500 in 2021, 3,800 in 2022, 3,900 in 2023, 3,500 in 2024 and 2,900 in 2025.

Limit: Figures are survey estimates rounded to hundreds and subject to revision. This series is a different survey from the QCEW used for the 1990 peak, so we use it to confirm the recent level rather than to compute the decline.

Verify: All Employees: Mining: Coal Mining in Kentucky (SMU21000001021210001A)

Common questions

“Coal jobs have been coming back in recent years.”

Employment rose slightly in 2022 and 2023, and the state recorded its last net gain in 2023, but both state and federal data show declines in 2024 and 2025 to record lows. Production also rose in late 2025 without a matching rise in jobs.

“The decline is exaggerated because different agencies count jobs differently.”

The agencies do count differently, which is why we checked three of them. Their 2025 figures range from about 2,900 to 4,000, and all of them are at least 86 percent below the more than 29,000 jobs around 1990.

Conclusion

Three independent data systems point the same way. The Kentucky Center for Statistics, using the federal Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, reports that coal mining employment peaked at more than 29,000 jobs, when Kentucky led the nation in coal jobs in 1990, then fell to 13,259 by December 2000, rebounded to nearly 17,000 by the end of 2011, and dropped to 2,406 in early 2020. The state Energy and Environment Cabinet's quarterly coal report counted 4,008 workers in the first quarter of 2025, and later state data reported by WEKU put the fourth-quarter 2025 figure at about 3,600, the lowest on record. The Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll survey, published through the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, puts the 2025 annual average at 2,900. Measured against a 29,000 peak, any of these recent figures is a decline of between 86 and 90 percent, so the claim that Kentucky has lost more than 80 percent of its coal jobs since 1990 holds under every definition we found. We rate it True with high confidence because the result does not depend on any single agency or counting method. What the data do not settle: the exact peak year and figure, since the statistics agency gives the peak only as more than 29,000 around 1990, and why jobs fell, which reflects mechanization, competition from natural gas, depletion of easily mined Central Appalachian seams and other factors this check does not weigh.

How we checked

  1. Defined the claim precisely: whether Kentucky coal mining employment has fallen by more than 80 percent from its level around 1990.
  2. Sought independent data systems rather than a single count: federal wage records, the state's own coal reports and the federal payroll survey.
  3. Reviewed the KYSTATS 2024 analysis, the Energy and Environment Cabinet's 2025 first-quarter report, WEKU's report on fourth-quarter 2025 state data, and the BLS series on FRED.
  4. Computed the decline against the stated peak using each recent figure, and recorded each source's limits.
  5. Archived every source URL.

Editorial note: Scope: this check covers the size of the decline in Kentucky coal mining employment since about 1990. It does not assess the causes of the decline or coal production, which has fallen less steeply than employment. Draft prepared with AI assistance for editorial review. No external specialist review has been recorded.

Expert-review status

No external specialist review has been recorded.

Funding and conflicts

Funding: No external funding for this piece.

Ownership: FactHub is an independent fact-checking project; it has no ownership ties to any source cited here.

Conflicts: No known conflicts of interest.

Sources

Sources are labeled by their role so readers can evaluate the evidence independently.

  1. State statistical analysis Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS). Employment Outcomes of Separated Coal Workers in Kentucky

    A 2024 state analysis of BLS QCEW data, chosen for its long-run coal employment history including the peak, the 2000 low and the 2011 rebound.

    Archived copy captured October 13, 2026
  2. Official state report Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. Kentucky Quarterly Coal Report, 2025 Q1

    The state's own quarterly count of coal employment and production by region and mine type, chosen as a primary source for the recent level.

    Archived copy captured October 13, 2026
  3. News report of state data WEKU. Kentucky coal production rises in 4th quarter, while employment declines

    Public radio report on the Cabinet's fourth-quarter 2025 data, chosen because it gives the latest year-end employment figure.

    Archived copy captured October 13, 2026
  4. Federal survey data U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED. All Employees: Mining: Coal Mining in Kentucky (SMU21000001021210001A) Identifier: SMU21000001021210001A

    The BLS payroll survey series for Kentucky coal mining, chosen as a federal check on the state's recent figures that uses a different method.

    Archived copy captured October 13, 2026

Update history

  1. First draft. No main image yet: an original illustration was prepared but could not be uploaded from this drafting environment; one should be added in the next version.
  2. Added a public-domain National Park Service photo of a Kentucky coal mine site as the main image.

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