Workforce development officials say steadily increasing layoffs in the western Kentucky coalfields have picked up since November. According to the state’s latest coal report, the region lost 405 jobs in the first quarter of 2016. Webster and Hopkins counties saw the largest drops at 173 and 145 jobs respectively.
Pennyrile Area Development District’s Workforce Programs Coordinator Julie Allen says the increase in layoffs started around November.
“This is the first round in several years in western Kentucky. Eastern Kentucky had seen quite a few job losses and so now it’s starting to pick up in Western Kentucky,” Allen said.
Allen says nine mines have issued closure notices since November.
Green River Area Development District business and training administrator Michelle Drake says she has seen few laid off miners in her area take an interest in retraining assistance.
“I mean they were making easily $20 to $25 per hour. And some of those individuals that worked in the mines just have a high school diploma. As far as those individuals looking for work, with the skill set that they have, they’re not finding those wages,” Drake said.
But Allen says job fairs and rapid response sessions explaining services that can help laid off miners find new employment have been well attended in her area. She says she’s seen many former miners express interest in further training and education that could help them earn close to their former wages.
1,500 coal jobs have been lost statewide. There are now about 6,900 miners in Kentucky, the lowest recorded level since 1898.
