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 Fergus County'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 Fergus County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Fergus County's total industry earnings increased 890.95%, from $35M in 1970 to $348M in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 68.79%, from $178M in 1970 to $300M in 2022.

Figure 2 traces Fergus County's and Montana'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, Fergus County's real total industry earnings rose from $175M in 1969 to $300M in 2022, for a net gain of $125M, or 71.39%. In comparison, Montana's real total industry earnings increased from $9,924M in 1969 to $36,648M in 2022, for a net gain of $26,724M, or 269.30%.

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

Fergus County's overall real total industry earnings growth was 71.39% over 1969-2022 trailed Montana's increase of 269.30%, and fell below the United States' increase of 278.59%.

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

In 1969, Fergus County's total industry earnings totaled 1.76% of Montana's total industry earnings, while in 2022 it totaled 0.82% thereby yielding a -0.94% share-shift.

Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Fergus County'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, Fergus County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 1.41% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1978 (28.60%) and posted its lowest growth in 1982 (-14.73%). In 2022, Fergus County's real total industry earnings grew by 7.82%

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 Fergus 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, 2010s, and 2020-2022.

During the 1970s, Fergus County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 2.04%. It averaged -0.22% in the 1980s, 1.53% during the 1990s, 1.91% in the 2000s, 2.08% throughout the 2010s, 0.44% thus far this decade (2020-2022).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Fergus County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Montana and the nation. As the chart reveals, Fergus County's average annual real total industry earnings growth amounted to less than Montana's average in the 1970s (2.04% vs. 3.68%), fell below Montana's average in the 1980s (-0.22% vs. -0.01%), recorded under Montana's average in the 1990s (1.53% vs. 3.09%), posted below Montana's average during the 2000s (1.91% vs. 3.01%), trailed Montana's average during the 2010s (2.08% vs. 2.42%), and lagged Montana's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.44% vs. 4.55%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Fergus County fell below the nation during the 1970s (2.04% vs. 3.13%), trailed the nation during the 1980s (-0.22% vs. 2.62%), posted below the nation during the 1990s (1.53% vs. 3.43%), outgained the nation throughout the 2000s (1.91% vs. 1.47%), recorded underneath the nation in the 2010s (2.08% vs. 2.53%), and lagged the nation over 2020-2022 (0.44% vs. 1.48%).