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 Sioux 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 Sioux County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Sioux County's total industry earnings increased 1,544.25%, from $7M in 1970 to $120M in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 180.07%, from $37M in 1970 to $104M in 2022.

Figure 2 traces Sioux County's and North Dakota'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, Sioux County's real total industry earnings rose from $37M in 1969 to $104M in 2022, for a net gain of $67M, or 183.50%. In comparison, North Dakota's real total industry earnings increased from $8,661M in 1969 to $35,366M in 2022, for a net advance of $26,705M, or 308.33%.

Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the total industry earnings growth of Sioux County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to North Dakota's statewide total industry earnings over time, as shown in Figure 3. A rising share means a region's total industry earnings grew faster, or declined less, than North Dakota's total industry earnings, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.

In 1969, Sioux County's total industry earnings comprised 0.42% of North Dakota's total industry earnings, while in 2022 it equated to 0.29% thereby yielding a -0.13% share-shift.

Figure 4 shows the short-run pattern of Sioux 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 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, Sioux County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 2.86% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1973 (39.99%) and recorded its lowest growth in 1974 (-28.26%). In 2022, Sioux County's real total industry earnings grew by 1.18%

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 5 again illustrates the annual percent change in Sioux County'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, Sioux County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 3.50%. It averaged -1.50% during the 1980s, 8.25% throughout the 1990s, 3.02% in the 2000s, 1.16% in the 2010s, 2.32% thus far this decade (2020-2022).

Figure 6 compares the decade average growth rates for Sioux County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for North Dakota and the nation. As the chart reveals, Sioux County's average annual real total industry earnings growth recorded under North Dakota's average throughout the 1970s (3.50% vs. 4.68%), lagged North Dakota's average in the 1980s (-1.50% vs. 0.07%), topped North Dakota's average during the 1990s (8.25% vs. 3.45%), recorded under North Dakota's average during the 2000s (3.02% vs. 3.77%), posted below North Dakota's average during the 2010s (1.16% vs. 3.89%), and registered above North Dakota's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (2.32% vs. 2.25%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Sioux County surpassed the nation over the 1970s (3.50% vs. 3.13%), fell below the nation over the 1980s (-1.50% vs. 2.62%), topped the nation in the 1990s (8.25% vs. 3.43%), surpassed the nation over the 2000s (3.02% vs. 1.47%), lagged the nation in the 2010s (1.16% vs. 2.53%), and led the nation over 2020-2022 (2.32% vs. 1.48%).