Official figures collated from employers and held by industry body Coal Services (the privatised Joint Coal Board) show coalmines employing the full-time equivalent of 22,320 production employees in August, up from 21,839 in August 2019 and 20,851 in August 2018.

The peak was in May this year, at 23,357.

The detailed figures divide jobs into open-cut and underground, and into directly employed and labour-hire firm type contractor roles.

All fluctuate from month to month across the Northern coalfields, but the overall trend of employment appears relatively steady, despite the pressures on coal prices, and mine profitability, this year.

Job pressures have again been underlined in the latest Resources Regulator Mine Safety News, which highlights a daylight accident last month at the Mangoola mine near Muswellbrook.

The regulator said a haul truck operator of 11 weeks' experience in the coal industry was reversing his truck to dump its load when he heard "a thud".

The haul truck and a bulldozer being driven by an "experienced" operator had collided, the regulator said.

As the Newcastle Herald has reported, coal is one of the major commodities impacted by Australia's deteriorating relations with China.

Australian coal production by Glencore, which with Yancoal is one of the Hunter's "big two" mining companies, is reportedly 13 per cent down for the year to the end of September, and an investor briefing on December 4 is likely to provide more detail to the market on Glencore's intentions for 2021.

Glencore announced earlier in the year that it was trying to preserve jobs by closing its mines for short periods during school holidays but its joint venture with Yancoal - the Hunter Valley Operations open-cut formerly owned by Rio Tino - has announced a cut of 84 contractors in January.

CFMEU northern division president Peter Jordan said yesterday that COVID and China had created uncertainty but the industry was holding up.

"The mining industry is cyclical in nature and we are used to ups and downs." Mr Jordan said.

"While we don't know what the future holds, at this stage we are not seeing any major loss of coal mining jobs and we are confident in the industry's resilience."

Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon also attributed industry uncertainty to COVID and China.

The tragic loss of positions in the Hunter's coal mines tells us zero about the industry's future," Mr Fitzgibbon said.

"Rather, it's about both a temporary COVID-induced reduction in demand for our product and the Morrison Government's management of our trading relationship with China."

CFMEU national president Tony Maher has also weighed in China, calling for an end to "reckless rhetoric" he says is damaging our trade position.

To be clear, I am not suggesting the Australian government adopt a supine position in relation to China," Mr Maher said in a letter to Resources Minister Keith Pitt, which Mr Maher also made public.

"Our nations have always had differences of opinion and these differences should be expressed robustly and constructively.

What I am suggesting, however, is that the complex matter of the 'national interest,' as it relates to China, should be left to those senior enough to operate effectively in the space - namely the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, and the Trade Minister."

As the Herald reported earlier in the week, at least 20 Australian vessels are reportedly waiting to unload coal in the northern Chinese port of Jingtang, delayed because of the trade standoff.

This week's edition of the industry journal Australian Coal Report says Chinese buyers have turned to South Africa and Columbia for thermal coal they would otherwise have bought from Australia - most of it from Newcastle - and to the United States and Canada for coking coal, which comes mostly from Queensland.

In turn, Australian thermal coal had "found new homes'' in Ian and Vietnam, while some coking coal has gone to India and Europe although "at steeply discounted" prices.

ACR quoted on coal trader who had apparently met with Chinese commerce ministry officials, who warned that Australian vessels would not be unloaded.

"We have several Australian thermal coal cargoes waiting in Chinese waters," the coal trader said.

"The longest one has been waiting more than four months now. It would be extremely difficult to resell thermal coal cargoes and all we can do is wait."

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