Despite a report this week projecting growth in coal mining jobs a decade from now, long-term trends in the coal industry will push miner salaries down and make the need to diversify Appalachia’s economy beyond coal greater than ever. The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy released a report last week showing that projected declines in productivity will lead to more mining jobs after 2020. However, looking at the big picture, this is not the good news it appears to be at first glance. Read
