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 Converse 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 Converse County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Converse County's total industry earnings increased 3,288.33%, from $18M in 1970 to $620M in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 477.15%, from $93M in 1970 to $534M in 2022.

Figure 2 traces Converse County's and Wyoming'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, Converse County's real total industry earnings rose from $97M in 1969 to $534M in 2022, for a net gain of $438M, or 453.12%. In comparison, Wyoming's real total industry earnings advanced from $5,193M in 1969 to $21,450M in 2022, for a net gain of $16,257M, or 313.03%.

Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the total industry earnings growth of Converse County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Wyoming'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 Wyoming's total industry earnings, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.

In 1969, Converse County's total industry earnings totaled 1.86% of Wyoming's total industry earnings, while in 2022 it equated to 2.49% thereby yielding a +0.63% share-shift.

Figure 4 displays the short-run pattern of Converse 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, Converse County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 3.83% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1971 (36.14%) and posted its lowest growth in 1982 (-16.77%). In 2022, Converse County's real total industry earnings declined by -1.40%

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 5 again depicts the annual percent change in Converse 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, Converse County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 13.36%. It averaged -3.17% in the 1980s, 2.52% in the 1990s, 4.59% in the 2000s, 5.31% during the 2010s, -7.63% thus far this decade (2020-2022).

Figure 6 compares the decade average growth rates for Converse County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Wyoming and the nation. As the chart reveals, Converse County's average annual real total industry earnings growth surpassed Wyoming's average in the 1970s (13.36% vs. 8.24%), posted below Wyoming's average throughout the 1980s (-3.17% vs. -1.61%), recorded under Wyoming's average throughout the 1990s (2.52% vs. 2.85%), outpaced Wyoming's average throughout the 2000s (4.59% vs. 4.53%), outpaced Wyoming's average throughout the 2010s (5.31% vs. 1.13%), and posted below Wyoming's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-7.63% vs. -0.62%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Converse County surpassed the nation during the 1970s (13.36% vs. 3.13%), recorded underneath the nation in the 1980s (-3.17% vs. 2.62%), fell under the nation over the 1990s (2.52% vs. 3.43%), outgained the nation during the 2000s (4.59% vs. 1.47%), outgained the nation over the 2010s (5.31% vs. 2.53%), and fell under the nation over 2020-2022 (-7.63% vs. 1.48%).