How many coal jobs? > Check the facts
Peter Reith writing in the Australian Financial Review today claimed that:
The coal industry alone provides about 200,000 jobs and brings in billions of dollars to our economy to underscore living standards.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics coal mining employs 37,800 people. Mr Reith’s claim is more than five times this number.
This misperception is more accurate than general impressions of mining industry employment. Survey results show that Australians think mining employs nine times as many people as it actually does.
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