Coal is also not the bargain for jobs that it's made out to be.

这句话出自CNN，搜索bargain词汇时的例句，看不懂什么意思，这里的bargain for jobs是什么意思？

My comments:

To paraphrase: Coal isn’t cheap to produce and doesn’t create as many well-paying jobs as people think it does.

A bargain is a purchase that’s bought at a lower than usual price. For example, if all people buy that handbag for $50 a piece and you get one at $30, you have a bargain.

In our example, the coal industry is perceived (made out) to be a job creator as it traditionally requires a lot of hands (to do the manual work). Nowadays, with better technology, automatic equipment and all, coal mining no longer needs as many people.

Also, coal miner may have earned handsome money in the old days, relatively speaking, but it is no longer the case today. Alternative and cleaner energy, such as nuclear and wind power, hire more people and with better pay.

These are, I’m sure, (at least some of) the reasons why coal is not the bargain for jobs that it’s made out to be.

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本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（张欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.