![A coal truck driver working in the Hunter Valley last year. Picture by Peter Lorimer A coal truck driver working in the Hunter Valley last year. Picture by Peter Lorimer](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/TFWurqJd3WWgt5tunziPf4/0c606d4d-5e07-4486-9363-c743d426bda4.JPG/r500_380_3000_1787_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mines across the Gunnedah basin are employing more workers than they have in a decade.
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The Gunnedah region had 3253 coalmining jobs in April, the most in a decade, while the western NSW region had 3374 and the southern region 3359.
The NSW Minerals Council published Coal Services data on Monday which showed the state had 24,575 "direct" coal jobs in April, the highest number since the last coal boom in 2012.
![NSW coal jobs since September 2012. Source: Coal Services NSW coal jobs since September 2012. Source: Coal Services](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/TFWurqJd3WWgt5tunziPf4/5d6314f9-6286-4074-bc07-25ac4f85d9f3.png/r0_0_2048_822_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Hunter had 14,589 coal jobs in April, the second highest number since June 2014.
The figures show how the Hunter industry dominates the sector in NSW, employing 59 per cent of the state's coal workforce.
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NSW Minerals Council chief executive officer Stephen Galilee said the industry was showing "ongoing strength".
"The strong performance and contribution of the coal sector reflects the overall growth of the entire mining sector in NSW, including in metals mining," he said.
Mr Galilee a near-record 8000 workers were employed directly in the NSW metals mining sector based on an industry expenditure survey.
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