Department stores are actually losing more jobs than the coal industry

For decades, Americans have loved to shop at malls -- but now, the industry as a whole is taking a bit hit, and retail workers are getting the brunt of it.

According to the Labor Department, in the last 15 years, jobs at traditional department stores fell 46 percent.

The figure is particularly troubling when compared to that of the coal industry, where jobs fell 32 percent during the same time period.

More than 3,000 stores are set to close so far this year -- about double the number that shuttered in 2016. In fact, 2017 will see the largest number of store closings since the Great Recession, according to CNN Money.