Earnings is the sum of wage and salary disbursements, supplements to wages and salaries, and proprietors' income. When proprietors' income is negative and larger in absolute value than the sum of wage and salary disbursements and supplements to wage and salary disbursements then earnings will also be negative. Proprietors' income can be negative, representing a loss, when production expenses are greater than gross output. For example, a drought which reduces gross farm output to zero would make proprietors' income (i.e. loss) equal to their expenses.
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