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 states.

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 state 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 Rhode Island's annual total industry earnings over 1959-2021 in current and constant (2012) dollars. Constant dollar measurements remove the effects of inflation. They allow for comparison of changes in the real purchasing power of Rhode Island over time.

When measured in current dollars, Rhode Island's total industry earnings increased 2,624.0%, from $1,589M in 1959 to $43,295M in 2021. When measured in constant 2012 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 281.4%, from $9,826M in 1959 to $37,475M in 2021.

Figure 2 shows Rhode Island's real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's real total industry earnings in 1958 as a base figure of 100, and the real total industry earningss in later years as a percentage of the 1958 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.

Rhode Island's overall real total industry earnings growth was 299.8% over 1958-2021 trailed the United States' increase of 535.0%.

Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the total industry earnings growth of Rhode Island is to trace its individual percentage contributions to the United States' total 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 the United States' total industry earnings, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.

In 1958, Rhode Island's total industry earnings totaled 0.48% of the United States' total industry earnings, while in 2021 it totaled 0.30% thereby yielding a -0.18% share-shift.

Figure 4 shows the short-run pattern of Rhode Island's real total industry earnings growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1959-2021. The average annual percent change for the entire 63-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, Rhode Island's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 2.27% over 1959-2021. The state posted its highest growth in 1966 (7.75%) and posted its lowest growth in 1974 (-7.80%). In 2021, Rhode Island's real total industry earnings grew by 3.68%

Over the past six decades some states 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 Rhode Island's real total industry earnings since 1959, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2021.

During the 1960s, Rhode Island's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 4.21%. It averaged 1.41% throughout the 1970s, 3.07% throughout the 1980s, 1.81% during the 1990s, 1.25% throughout the 2000s, 1.75% during the 2010s, 1.67% thus far this decade (2020-2021).

Figure 6 compares the decade average growth rates for Rhode Island noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for the nation.

Relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Rhode Island lagged the nation over the 1960s (4.21% vs. 4.72%), lagged the nation over the 1970s (1.41% vs. 3.13%), exceeded the nation in the 1980s (3.07% vs. 2.62%), fell below the nation over the 1990s (1.81% vs. 3.43%), posted below the nation throughout the 2000s (1.25% vs. 1.47%), posted below the nation throughout the 2010s (1.75% vs. 2.52%), and trailed the nation over 2020-2021 (1.67% vs. 2.53%).