EXPLANATION OF GRAPHS AND DATA

POPULATION GRAPH

This graph shows a region's estimated population figures for 2001 through 2004.

RELATIVE SECTOR SIZE GRAPH

This graph shows the estimated relative size of the 21 NAICS economic sectors in 2004 using the measure earnings. An economic sector is a general area of good or service production in the economy, such as manufacturing or constuction. Earnings reperesents the sum of wage and salary disbursements, supplements to wages and salaries, and proprietors' income realized over one year by persons producing in a region such as a county. Earnings are technically called "Earnings by Place of Work."

Wage and salary disbursements consists of the monetary renumeration of employees, including corporate officers salaries and bonuses, commissions, pay-in-kind, incentive payments, and tips. It reflects the amount of payments disbursed, but not necessarily earned during the year.

Supplements to wage and salaries consists of employer contributions for employee pension and insurance and insurance funds and of employer contributions for government social insurance.

Proprietors' income is the current-production income of sole proprietors and partnerships and of tax-exempt cooperatives. Corporate directors' fees are included. Proprietors' income excludes dividends and monetary interest received by nonfinancial business and rental incomes received by persons not primarily engaged in the real estate business; these incomes are included in dividends, net interest, and rental income of persons, respectively.

SECTOR CHANGE GRAPH

This graph shows estimated sectoral change in earnings between 2001 and 2004, adjusted for inflation. Adjusted for inflation, in this case, means that the earnings change is stated using 2004 dollars. This was accomplished using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

This graph actually shows the change in 'real' earnings between 2001 and 2004. Changes in real earnings reflect changes in the purchasing power of earnings.

PER-CAPITA INCOME GRAPH

This graph shows estimtated per-capita income figures for 2001 through 2004, adjusted for inflation using the CPI. Per-capita income is found by dividing total personal income for a region by that region's population. The components of total personal income are explained in the next section.

SOURCES OF INCOME GRAPH

This graph shows the estimated contribution of the three components of per-capita personal income for 2001 through 2004, adjusted for inflation using the CPI. The three components of personal income are: Income From Work; Dividends, Interest, and Rent; and Transfer Payments.

Income From Work is technically called "Net Earnings by Place of Residence" and represents earnings for those persons who actually live in the region. Income From Work includes a residence adjustment to earnings. A downward adjustment is made to account for persons who work in the region but live outside the region. An upward adjustment is made for persons who reside in the region but work outside the region. Income From Work also does not include employer contributions to employee pensions and government social insurance (e.g., Social Security).

Dividends, Interest, and Rent is explained as follows. Dividends consist of payments in cash or other assets, excluding the corporation's own stock, made by corporations in the U.S. or abroad to persons who are U.S. residents. It excludes that portion of dividends paid by regulated investment companies (mutual funds) related to capital gains distributions. Interest is the interest income (monetary and imputed) or persons from all sources. Rent is the net income of persons from the rental of real property except for the income of persons primarily engaged in the real estate business; the imputed net rental income of the owner-occupants of non-farm dwellings; and the royalties from patents, copyrights, and the right to natural resources.

Transfer Payments are payments to persons for which no current services are performed. It consists of payments to persons and to nonprofit institutions by the Federal, state, and local governments and by businesses. Government payments to individuals includes retirement and disability insurance payments (Social Security), medical payments (Medicare & Medicaid), income maintenance benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, veterans benefits, and Federal grants and loans to students. Government payments to nonprofit institutions excludes payments by the Federal Government for work under research and development contracts. Business payments to persons consists primarily of liability payments for personal injury and of corporate gifts to nonprofit insitutions.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Information System (REIS)

The Maine Economy:2001 - 2004
Copyright March, 2007. Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469
Robert Roper, Professor of Business Administration, University of Maine at Augusta
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