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 Humboldt County's annual total industry earnings over 1969-2017 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 Humboldt County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Humboldt County's total industry earnings increased 1,153.1%, from $312M in 1969 to $3,904M in 2017. When measured in constant 2012 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 136.4%, from $1,557M in 1969 to $3,680M in 2017.

Figure 2 traces Humboldt County's and California's annual real total industry earnings for the period 1969-2017 to illustrate real total industry earnings patterns over time. During this 49-year period, Humboldt County's real total industry earnings rose from $1,557M in 1969 to $3,680M in 2017, for a net gain of $2,124M, or 136.4%. In comparison, California's real total industry earnings advanced from $372,705M in 1969 to $1,600,145M in 2017, for a net advance of $1,227,440M, or 329.3%.

Figure 3 portrays Humboldt County's real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with California, 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.

Humboldt County's overall real total industry earnings growth was 136.4% over 1969-2017 trailed California's increase of 329.3%, and fell below the United States' increase of 242.6%.

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

In 1969, Humboldt County's total industry earnings comprised 0.42% of California's total industry earnings, while in 2017 it comprised 0.23% thereby yielding a -0.19% share-shift.

Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Humboldt County's real total industry earnings growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2017. The average annual percent change for the entire 48-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, Humboldt County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 1.90% over 1970-2017. The county recorded its highest growth in 2010 (10.75%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2008 (-9.37%). In 2017, Humboldt County's real total industry earnings grew by 4.13%

Over the past four decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again illustrates the annual percent change in Humboldt 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 2010-2017.

During the 1970s, Humboldt County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 2.44%. It averaged 0.92% throughout the 1980s, 1.80% in the 1990s, 1.57% during the 2000s, and 3.00% thus far this decade (2010 to 2017).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Humboldt County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for California and the nation. As the chart reveals, Humboldt County's average annual real total industry earnings growth lagged California's average in the 1970s (2.44% vs. 3.66%), recorded under California's average during the 1980s (0.92% vs. 3.72%), lagged California's average during the 1990s (1.80% vs. 3.15%), fell below California's average throughout the 2000s (1.57% vs. 1.59%), and amounted to less than California's average over the 8 year period of the last decade, 2010-2017 (3.00% vs. 3.58%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Humboldt County posted below the nation in the 1970s (2.44% vs. 3.13%), fell below the nation during the 1980s (0.92% vs. 2.61%), trailed the nation during the 1990s (1.80% vs. 3.44%), surpassed the nation throughout the 2000s (1.57% vs. 1.47%), and registered above the nation over 2010-2017 (3.00% vs. 2.46%).