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 Anchorage 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 Anchorage MSA over time.

When measured in current dollars, the Anchorage MSA's total industry earnings increased 2,297.66%, from $784M in 1970 to $18,804M in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 308.40%, from $3,968M in 1970 to $16,204M in 2022.

Figure 2 tracks the Anchorage MSA's and Alaska'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 Anchorage MSA's real total industry earnings rose from $3,686M in 1969 to $16,204M in 2022, for a net gain of $12,518M, or 339.61%. In comparison, Alaska's real total industry earnings advanced from $7,603M in 1969 to $29,753M in 2022, for a net gain of $22,150M, or 291.34%.

Figure 3 shows the Anchorage MSA's real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Alaska, 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 Anchorage MSA's overall real total industry earnings growth was 339.61% over 1969-2022 outpaced Alaska's increase of 291.34%, and topped the United States' increase of 278.59%.

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

In 1969, the Anchorage MSA's total industry earnings comprised 48.48% of Alaska's total industry earnings, while in 2022 it comprised 54.46% thereby yielding a +5.98% share-shift.

Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of the Anchorage 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 Anchorage MSA's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 2.97% over 1970-2022. The Anchorage MSA posted its highest growth in 1975 (24.14%) and posted its lowest growth in 1987 (-9.16%). In 2022, the Anchorage MSA's real total industry earnings declined by -1.84%

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 Anchorage 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 Anchorage MSA's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 7.18%. It averaged 2.32% in the 1980s, 2.30% throughout the 1990s, 3.65% in the 2000s, 0.51% throughout the 2010s, -0.79% thus far this decade (2020-2022).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for the Anchorage MSA noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Alaska and the nation. As the chart reveals, the Anchorage MSA's average annual real total industry earnings growth amounted to less than Alaska's average during the 1970s (7.18% vs. 7.88%), outperformed Alaska's average throughout the 1980s (2.32% vs. 2.15%), topped Alaska's average during the 1990s (2.30% vs. 1.39%), led Alaska's average during the 2000s (3.65% vs. 3.30%), fell below Alaska's average during the 2010s (0.51% vs. 0.82%), and topped Alaska's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.79% vs. -1.31%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, the Anchorage MSA exceeded the nation in the 1970s (7.18% vs. 3.13%), fell under the nation over the 1980s (2.32% vs. 2.62%), trailed the nation during the 1990s (2.30% vs. 3.43%), exceeded the nation during the 2000s (3.65% vs. 1.47%), trailed the nation throughout the 2010s (0.51% vs. 2.53%), and recorded underneath the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.79% vs. 1.48%).