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 Gloucester 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 Gloucester County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Gloucester County's total industry earnings increased 3,191.0%, from $18M in 1970 to $576M in 2020. When measured in constant 2012 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 518.7%, from $84M in 1970 to $518M in 2020.

Figure 2 tracks Gloucester County's and Virginia'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, Gloucester County's real total industry earnings rose from $81M in 1969 to $518M in 2020, for a net gain of $437M, or 541.3%. In comparison, Virginia's real total industry earnings advanced from $69,526M in 1969 to $322,091M in 2020, for a net gain of $252,565M, or 363.3%.

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

Gloucester County's overall real total industry earnings growth was 541.3% over 1969-2020 outpaced Virginia's increase of 363.3%, and topped the United States' increase of 262.7%.

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

In 1969, Gloucester County's total industry earnings comprised 0.12% of Virginia's total industry earnings, while in 2020 it comprised 0.16% thereby yielding a +0.04% share-shift.

Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Gloucester 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 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, Gloucester County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 3.81% over 1970-2020. The county recorded its highest growth in 1972 (17.52%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2009 (-4.85%). In 2020, Gloucester County's real total industry earnings grew by 2.40%

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 shows the annual percent change in Gloucester 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, Gloucester County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 7.29%. It averaged 4.53% throughout the 1980s, 4.12% in the 1990s, 2.40% throughout the 2000s, 0.85% in the 2010s, and 2.40% in 2020.

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Gloucester County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Virginia and the nation. As the chart reveals, Gloucester County's average annual real total industry earnings growth outperformed Virginia's average during the 1970s (7.29% vs. 3.72%), outgained Virginia's average in the 1980s (4.53% vs. 4.23%), led Virginia's average throughout the 1990s (4.12% vs. 3.37%), posted below Virginia's average in the 2000s (2.40% vs. 2.58%), and recorded under Virginia's average over the 10 year period of the last decade, 2010-2019 (0.85% vs. 1.67%). In 2020, Gloucester County's growth has outgained Virginia's average (2.40% vs. 1.46%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Gloucester County surpassed the nation in the 1970s (7.29% vs. 3.13%), outperformed the nation throughout the 1980s (4.53% vs. 2.62%), led the nation over the 1990s (4.12% vs. 3.43%), topped the nation in the 2000s (2.40% vs. 1.47%), and trailed the nation over 2010-2019 (0.85% vs. 2.52%). In 2020, growth for Gloucester County has exceeded the national average (2.40% vs. 0.18%).