Today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed that U.S. energy production is a job creator.  Employment in oil and natural gas production rose 4.3% in the last year. This can largely be attributed to new energy production on state and private lands, which are significantly out producing federally permitted lands, as noted by the Congressional Research Service.

Unfortunately, mining jobs have decreased 5.4% since April of last year, in large part due to the Obama Administration’s war on coal. One example of this is the Administration’s decision to rewrite a coal mining regulation that that had undergone five years of environmental analysis and public review. According to their own estimates, their new proposed regulation could cost up to 7,000 direct coal mining jobs and cause economic harm to 22 states across the country. For over two years, the Committee has been conducting an investigation into this sweeping rewrite.

While the job numbers are encouraging for the oil and natural gas industry, the numbers could be even better if the Obama Administration stopped blocking production on federal land and abandoned its war on coal.