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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA over time.

When measured in current dollars, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's total industry earnings increased 2,327.08%, from $15,268M in 1970 to $370,563M in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 313.41%, from $77,243M in 1970 to $319,333M in 2022.

Figure 2 traces the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's and Massachusetts' 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's real total industry earnings rose from $75,313M in 1969 to $319,333M in 2022, for a net gain of $244,020M, or 324.01%. In comparison, Massachusetts' real total industry earnings advanced from $103,043M in 1969 to $383,547M in 2022, for a net gain of $280,504M, or 272.22%.

Figure 3 portrays the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Massachusetts, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's overall real total industry earnings growth was 324.01% over 1969-2022 outpaced Massachusetts' increase of 272.22%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 278.59%.

Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the total industry earnings growth of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Massachusetts' 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 Massachusetts' total industry earnings, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.

In 1969, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's total industry earnings comprised 73.09% of Massachusetts' total industry earnings, while in 2022 it totaled 83.26% thereby yielding a +10.17% share-shift.

Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 2.81% over 1970-2022. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA recorded its highest growth in 2000 (10.82%) and posted its lowest growth in 1974 (-3.87%). In 2022, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's real total industry earnings declined by -1.46%

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 illustrates the annual percent change in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 2.06%. It averaged 4.61% in the 1980s, 3.18% during the 1990s, 1.72% in the 2000s, 3.00% throughout the 2010s, 1.11% thus far this decade (2020-2022).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Massachusetts and the nation. As the chart reveals, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA's average annual real total industry earnings growth outgained Massachusetts' average during the 1970s (2.06% vs. 1.82%), led Massachusetts' average during the 1980s (4.61% vs. 4.26%), exceeded Massachusetts' average in the 1990s (3.18% vs. 2.81%), recorded above Massachusetts' average in the 2000s (1.72% vs. 1.61%), topped Massachusetts' average throughout the 2010s (3.00% vs. 2.80%), and outpaced Massachusetts' average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.11% vs. 0.86%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA lagged the nation during the 1970s (2.06% vs. 3.13%), registered above the nation over the 1980s (4.61% vs. 2.62%), posted below the nation throughout the 1990s (3.18% vs. 3.43%), topped the nation during the 2000s (1.72% vs. 1.47%), exceeded the nation during the 2010s (3.00% vs. 2.53%), and fell below the nation over 2020-2022 (1.11% vs. 1.48%).