MORGANTOWN, WV — West Virginia University’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research recently released a study looking at the economic impact of the nation’s coal industry. They looked at the nation as a whole and then broke down the impact by coal-producing state.
The study showed that in 2021, the coal mining industry in the state of Kentucky produced around 26.6 million short tons of coal and employed around 3.5 thousand workers. The reseachers estimate that this coal production generated around $1.4 billion in output in 2021. This output is estimated to generate $1.0 billion in secondary output impacts, resulting in a total economic impact of more than $2.4 billion in output in the Kentucky economy.
They further estimate that the 3.5 thousand coal mining jobs in Kentucky in 2021 are expected to generate nearly 5.0 thousand additional jobs in the state economy, resulting in a total employment impact of 8.5 thousand jobs. Further, coal production generates more than $670.0 million in labor income in the state.
Finally, coal production is estimated to generate $172.0 million in select state and local tax revenue.
