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 1970-2020 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 1,139.0%, from $318M in 1970 to $3,946M in 2020. When measured in constant 2012 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 132.9%, from $1,523M in 1970 to $3,548M in 2020.

Figure 2 traces Humboldt County's and California's annual real total industry earnings for the period 1969-2020 to illustrate real total industry earnings patterns over time. During this 52-year period, Humboldt County's real total industry earnings rose from $1,552M in 1969 to $3,548M in 2020, for a net gain of $1,995M, or 128.5%. In comparison, California's real total industry earnings increased from $372,092M in 1969 to $1,719,453M in 2020, for a net advance of $1,347,361M, or 362.1%.

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 128.5% over 1969-2020 trailed California's increase of 362.1%, and fell below the United States' increase of 262.7%.

Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the total industry earnings growth of Humboldt County is to compare 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 totaled 0.42% of California's total industry earnings, while in 2020 it equated to 0.21% thereby yielding a -0.21% 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 1970-2020. The average annual percent change for the entire 51-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, Humboldt County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 1.72% over 1970-2020. The county posted its highest growth in 2010 (10.66%) and posted its lowest growth in 2008 (-9.34%). In 2020, Humboldt County's real total industry earnings grew by 0.09%

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 Humboldt County'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, and 2020.

During the 1970s, Humboldt County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 2.44%. It averaged 0.94% during the 1980s, 1.86% in the 1990s, 1.51% in the 2000s, 2.00% throughout the 2010s, and 0.09% in 2020.

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 posted below California's average throughout the 1970s (2.44% vs. 3.66%), lagged California's average throughout the 1980s (0.94% vs. 3.74%), recorded under California's average throughout the 1990s (1.86% vs. 3.19%), lagged California's average during the 2000s (1.51% vs. 1.54%), and recorded under California's average over the 10 year period of the last decade, 2010-2019 (2.00% vs. 3.44%). In 2020, Humboldt County's growth has lagged California's average (0.09% vs. 1.48%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Humboldt County trailed the nation during the 1970s (2.44% vs. 3.13%), recorded underneath the nation over the 1980s (0.94% vs. 2.62%), fell below the nation in the 1990s (1.86% vs. 3.43%), outgained the nation during the 2000s (1.51% vs. 1.47%), and fell under the nation over 2010-2019 (2.00% vs. 2.52%). In 2020, growth for Humboldt County has recorded under the national average (0.09% vs. 0.18%).