Philadelphia has also had steady growth in the last seven years.
Employment in the coal industry has been minimal for many years. It's a nonfactor. Gas is big now.
To put it in perspective (and to show how significantly automated mining is in 2019) all you need to know is that Arby’s has more employees than the entire US coal industry.
Coal isn't coming back. Here's the short story: North Korea was testing nuclear weapons very close to China and threatening world stability. The major supplier of coal to China was North Korea and the Chinese wanted to sanction North Korea for the nuclear weapons but needed another source of coal. The US conveniently relaxed their environmental laws, coal started some new operations, so China was able to sanction North Korea. I suspect that as soon as China stops the sanctions the coal industry will be right back to pre-2016 levels.
0.4% in 2017 but at least it’s not shrinking like Pittsburgh and Baltimore I guess.
Web says US coal production up 6% in 2017, down 2.4% in 2018, peaked in 2000. Projected to fall 9% in 2019.
As noted above, coal will never be the king it once was. Most of the easily accessible coal reserves are gone. Other reserves you would never get a permit for under today's regulations. Coal production has increased a little with increased demand of mostly metallurgical coal. But the small demand increase coupled with automation means little increase in employment.
That's not surprising actually. If anyone is in Western PA and wants to take a cool field trip, go to Tour Ed. It's a tourist deep mine outside of Pittsburgh. Well worth the trip and not too expensive either. They go over the different technologies over the years and production increased while requiring less people. Note though that you have to be able to get in and out of a low clearance train car and not be claustrophobic. And you will get a little dirty (duh, it's a coal mine). The owner is also a PSU grad.
