The US Now Has More Solar Workers Than Coal Miners

Brian Kusler

There are now more people working in the solar industry than there are coal miners, according to Politifact.

They cite the Solar Foundation, a nonprofit, which counted 142,698 employees in November of 2013 who spend "at least 50% of their time supporting solar-related activities." The foundation says they made 74,000 phone calls and sent 11,000 emails to produce their workforce census.

For coal, they reference a 2013 report from U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration saying there were 123,227 coal mining jobs in the U.S.

For now, the workforce for the coal industry writ-large - those who work in transportation and maintenance, for instance - remains larger than for solar, Politifact says.

But perhaps not for much longer.