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 Cameron 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 Cameron County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Cameron County's total industry earnings increased 346.8%, from $27M in 1969 to $120M in 2017. When measured in constant 2012 dollars to adjust for inflation, it declined -15.7%, from $134M in 1969 to $113M in 2017.

Figure 2 tracks Cameron County's and Pennsylvania'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, Cameron County's real total industry earnings dropped from $134M in 1969 to $113M in 2017, for a net loss of ($21)M, or -15.7%. In comparison, Pennsylvania's real total industry earnings increased from $192,524M in 1969 to $451,206M in 2017, for a net advance of $258,682M, or 134.4%.

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

Cameron County's overall real total industry earnings growth was -15.7% over 1969-2017 trailed Pennsylvania's increase of 134.4%, and fell below the United States' increase of 242.6%.

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

In 1969, Cameron County's total industry earnings comprised 0.07% of Pennsylvania's total industry earnings, while in 2017 it totaled 0.02% thereby yielding a -0.04% share-shift.

Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Cameron 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 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, Cameron County's real total industry earnings contracted at an annual rate of -0.12% over 1970-2017. The county recorded its highest growth in 2010 (13.38%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1982 (-19.33%). In 2017, Cameron County's real total industry earnings declined by -2.42%

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 Cameron 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 2010-2017.

During the 1970s, Cameron County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged -1.26%. It averaged -0.24% throughout the 1980s, 2.07% in the 1990s, -2.42% in the 2000s, and 1.58% thus far this decade (2010 to 2017).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Cameron County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Pennsylvania and the nation. As the chart reveals, Cameron County's average annual real total industry earnings growth trailed Pennsylvania's average throughout the 1970s (-1.26% vs. 1.96%), lagged Pennsylvania's average in the 1980s (-0.24% vs. 1.37%), posted below Pennsylvania's average during the 1990s (2.07% vs. 2.36%), trailed Pennsylvania's average in the 2000s (-2.42% vs. 1.33%), and trailed Pennsylvania's average over the 8 year period of the last decade, 2010-2017 (1.58% vs. 2.11%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Cameron County fell below the nation during the 1970s (-1.26% vs. 3.13%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 1980s (-0.24% vs. 2.61%), recorded underneath the nation throughout the 1990s (2.07% vs. 3.44%), trailed the nation during the 2000s (-2.42% vs. 1.47%), and fell below the nation over 2010-2017 (1.58% vs. 2.46%).