Gross employment flows in U.S. coal mining

This paper examines patterns of job creation and destruction in U.S. coal mining and compares those patterns to known regularities in U.S. manufacturing. Using a unique panel data set of coal mines from 1973 to 1996, this paper finds the following: annual employment flows in coal mining are substantially higher than in manufacturing, high job creation, destruction, and reallocation rates are attributable in part to mine openings and closings, a significant amount of job destruction and creation is attributable to temporary shutdowns and re-openings, and job destruction is counter-cyclical and more volatile than job creation.