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 the Winston-Salem MSA'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 the Winston-Salem MSA over time.

When measured in current dollars, the Winston-Salem MSA's total industry earnings increased 1,902.17%, from $1,177M in 1970 to $23,572M in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 241.04%, from $5,956M in 1970 to $20,313M in 2022.

Figure 2 traces the Winston-Salem MSA's and North Carolina'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, the Winston-Salem MSA's real total industry earnings rose from $5,802M in 1969 to $20,313M in 2022, for a net gain of $14,511M, or 250.08%. In comparison, North Carolina's real total industry earnings advanced from $72,528M in 1969 to $374,574M in 2022, for a net advance of $302,046M, or 416.46%.

Figure 3 portrays the Winston-Salem MSA's real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with North Carolina, 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.

The Winston-Salem MSA's overall real total industry earnings growth was 250.08% over 1969-2022 trailed North Carolina's increase of 416.46%, and fell below the United States' increase of 278.59%.

Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the total industry earnings growth of the Winston-Salem MSA is to compare its individual percentage contributions to North Carolina'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 North Carolina's total industry earnings, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.

In 1969, the Winston-Salem MSA's total industry earnings comprised 8.00% of North Carolina's total industry earnings, while in 2022 it comprised 5.42% thereby yielding a -2.58% share-shift.

Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of the Winston-Salem MSA'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 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, the Winston-Salem MSA's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 2.44% over 1970-2022. The Winston-Salem MSA posted its highest growth in 1972 (9.26%) and posted its lowest growth in 2011 (-4.89%). In 2022, the Winston-Salem MSA's real total industry earnings grew by 1.88%

Over the past five decades some msas 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 the Winston-Salem MSA'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, 2010s, and 2020-2022.

During the 1970s, the Winston-Salem MSA's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 4.06%. It averaged 3.37% throughout the 1980s, 2.53% throughout the 1990s, 0.66% during the 2000s, 1.61% in the 2010s, 2.32% thus far this decade (2020-2022).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for the Winston-Salem MSA noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for North Carolina and the nation. As the chart reveals, the Winston-Salem MSA's average annual real total industry earnings growth topped North Carolina's average during the 1970s (4.06% vs. 3.59%), lagged North Carolina's average during the 1980s (3.37% vs. 3.90%), fell below North Carolina's average in the 1990s (2.53% vs. 4.07%), posted below North Carolina's average during the 2000s (0.66% vs. 2.16%), posted below North Carolina's average throughout the 2010s (1.61% vs. 2.26%), and lagged North Carolina's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (2.32% vs. 3.18%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, the Winston-Salem MSA topped the nation in the 1970s (4.06% vs. 3.13%), outgained the nation over the 1980s (3.37% vs. 2.62%), fell under the nation over the 1990s (2.53% vs. 3.43%), fell under the nation throughout the 2000s (0.66% vs. 1.47%), trailed the nation in the 2010s (1.61% vs. 2.53%), and outgained the nation over 2020-2022 (2.32% vs. 1.48%).