Industry earnings are incomes received by people who are directly involved with producing goods and services. Earnings, referred to also as "labor and proprietors income", include (1) wage and salary disbursements, (2) other labor income such as employer contributions to private retirement and medical insurance programs, and (3) the net incomes of proprietors (i.e., the owners of unincorporated enterprises).

In contrast to the more frequently cited employment data, earnings data more accurately reflect qualitative differences in labor's contributions toward the production of goods and services, namely the productivity differences reflected in variations in earnings per job. Earnings data, therefore, are better for comparing and tracking long-term trends and identifying short-run shifts in the level and composition of economic activity within and among counties.

Just like the employment data compiled by BEA, earnings data are reported on a place-of-work, or more accurately on a place-where-earned, basis.

Note: the BEA earnings data presented and discussed here in the context of comparing and assessing the economic growth and performance of county and regional economies are entirely separate and apart from--and should not be confused with--corporate earnings, which are compiled from the balance sheets of individual private corporations.

Figure 1 depicts the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s annual total industry earnings over 1970-2022 in current and constant (2017) dollars. Constant dollar measurements remove the effects of inflation. They allow for comparison of changes in the real purchasing power of the Nonmetropolitan U.S. over time.

When measured in current dollars, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s total industry earnings increased 1,400.22%, from $87,289M in 1970 to $1,309,531M in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 155.54%, from $441,612M in 1970 to $1,128,487M in 2022.

Figure 2 traces the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s and Tennessee's annual real total industry earnings for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate real total industry earnings patterns over time. During this 54-year period, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s real total industry earnings rose from $435,892M in 1969 to $1,128,487M in 2022, for a net gain of $692,596M, or 158.89%. In comparison, Tennessee's real total industry earnings increased from $54,193M in 1969 to $261,732M in 2022, for a net advance of $207,540M, or 382.96%.

Figure 3 portrays the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Tennessee, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's real total industry earnings in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the real total industry earningss in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in real total industry earnings growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.

The Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s overall real total industry earnings growth was 158.89% over 1969-2022 trailed Tennessee's increase of 382.96%, and fell below the United States' increase of 278.59%.

Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the total industry earnings growth of the Nonmetropolitan U.S. and Tennessee is to compare their individual percentage contributions to the United States' total total industry earnings over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total industry earnings grew faster, or declined less, than the United States' total industry earnings, while a declining share shows they grew more slowly.

In 1969, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s total industry earnings totaled 12.59% of the United States' total industry earnings, while in 2022 it equated to 8.61% thereby yielding a -3.98% share-shift. Similarly, in 1969, Tennessee's total industry earnings made up 1.57% of the United States' total industry earnings, while in 2022 it consisted of 2.00%, resulting in a +0.43% share-shift.

Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s real total industry earnings growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also traced on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.

On average, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 1.86% over 1970-2022. The Nonmetropolitan U.S. posted its highest growth in 1973 (12.02%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1980 (-6.90%). In 2022, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s real total industry earnings grew by 0.16%

Over the past five decades some nonmetropolitan regions have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again shows the annual percent change in the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s real total industry earnings since 1970, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.

During the 1970s, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 3.38%. It averaged 0.87% throughout the 1980s, 2.66% in the 1990s, 1.05% throughout the 2000s, 1.37% during the 2010s, 1.69% thus far this decade (2020-2022).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for the Nonmetropolitan U.S. noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Tennessee and the nation. As the chart reveals, the Nonmetropolitan U.S.'s average annual real total industry earnings growth amounted to less than Tennessee's average in the 1970s (3.38% vs. 4.14%), lagged Tennessee's average in the 1980s (0.87% vs. 2.69%), posted below Tennessee's average during the 1990s (2.66% vs. 4.41%), fell below Tennessee's average throughout the 2000s (1.05% vs. 1.11%), recorded under Tennessee's average throughout the 2010s (1.37% vs. 2.88%), and posted below Tennessee's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.69% vs. 3.29%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, the Nonmetropolitan U.S. outpaced the nation throughout the 1970s (3.38% vs. 3.13%), lagged the nation in the 1980s (0.87% vs. 2.62%), posted below the nation over the 1990s (2.66% vs. 3.43%), lagged the nation throughout the 2000s (1.05% vs. 1.47%), lagged the nation over the 2010s (1.37% vs. 2.53%), and outperformed the nation over 2020-2022 (1.69% vs. 1.48%).