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 Mineral County's annual total industry earnings over 1970-2019 in current and constant (2012) dollars. Constant dollar measurements remove the effects of inflation. They allow for comparison of changes in the real purchasing power of Mineral County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Mineral County's total industry earnings increased 391.4%, from $26M in 1970 to $127M in 2019. When measured in constant 2012 dollars to adjust for inflation, it declined -6.3%, from $123M in 1970 to $115M in 2019.

Figure 2 traces Mineral County's and Nevada's annual real total industry earnings for the period 1969-2019 to illustrate real total industry earnings patterns over time. During this 51-year period, Mineral County's real total industry earnings dropped from $124M in 1969 to $115M in 2019, for a net loss of ($9)M, or -7.3%. In comparison, Nevada's real total industry earnings advanced from $9,774M in 1969 to $95,511M in 2019, for a net advance of $85,737M, or 877.2%.

Figure 3 shows Mineral County's real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Nevada, 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.

Mineral County's overall real total industry earnings growth was -7.3% over 1969-2019 trailed Nevada's increase of 877.2%, and fell below the United States' increase of 264.6%.

Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the total industry earnings growth of Mineral County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Nevada's statewide 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 Nevada's total industry earnings, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.

In 1969, Mineral County's total industry earnings comprised 1.27% of Nevada's total industry earnings, while in 2019 it equated to 0.12% thereby yielding a -1.15% share-shift.

Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Mineral County's real total industry earnings growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2019. The average annual percent change for the entire 50-year period is also illustrated 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, Mineral County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 0.19% over 1970-2019. The county posted its highest growth in 2008 (19.44%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2012 (-26.40%). In 2019, Mineral County's real total industry earnings grew by 8.09%

Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again traces the annual percent change in Mineral County's real total industry earnings since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010-2019.

During the 1970s, Mineral County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged -0.82%. It averaged 2.41% throughout the 1980s, -0.80% during the 1990s, 1.35% during the 2000s, and -1.18% thus far this decade (2010 to 2019).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Mineral County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Nevada and the nation. As the chart reveals, Mineral County's average annual real total industry earnings growth fell below Nevada's average in the 1970s (-0.82% vs. 6.77%), lagged Nevada's average during the 1980s (2.41% vs. 4.48%), lagged Nevada's average in the 1990s (-0.80% vs. 7.64%), recorded under Nevada's average during the 2000s (1.35% vs. 2.17%), and recorded under Nevada's average over the 10 year period of the last decade, 2010-2019 (-1.18% vs. 2.68%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Mineral County trailed the nation in the 1970s (-0.82% vs. 3.13%), trailed the nation over the 1980s (2.41% vs. 2.62%), fell under the nation over the 1990s (-0.80% vs. 3.43%), recorded underneath the nation in the 2000s (1.35% vs. 1.49%), and fell under the nation over 2010-2019 (-1.18% vs. 2.58%).