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E-mail: labour@cso.ie Martina O'Calllaghan +353 21 453 5491 Brendan Curtin +353 21 453 5577
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-6011
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity

2012

         
Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 & overNumber with no employment activity 2007-2012Employment activity by year
200720082009201020112012
2007188,77556,287107,90598,42866,72554,49848,86445,502
2008127,71852,020 61,75348,97835,08730,51627,814
200963,28633,524  20,76220,42016,16714,285
201059,44830,823   21,19821,52116,851
201158,32130,449    21,78222,511
201264,19239,306     24,842

Less than one quarter of foreign nationals assigned PPSNs in 2007 had employment activity in Ireland in 2012

Figure 1 Employment Activity in 2007 - 2012 of those issued with PPSNs in 2007
go to full release

Of the 188,775 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who were assigned PPSNs (Personal Public Service Numbers) in 2007, 45,502 (24.1%) had employment activity at any time during 2012.  See table 2.

This data emerges from an annual analysis of records of the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Social Protection and the CSO, based on foreign nationals who were allocated PPSNs during the ten-year period 2002-2012.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the term “activity” in this release means any PAYE employment or any engagement with the social welfare system.

The analysis also shows that:

  • In 2012 there were 24,842 foreign nationals with new PPSNs who had employment activity during the year.  See table 2.
  • Employment activity was recorded in 2012 for 312,539 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who received PPSNs in the period 2002–2012.  See table 4.
  • A total of 215,206 PPSNs were allocated to foreign nationals in 2007, while in 2012 this figure had fallen to 72,959. Allocations to foreign national males in 2012 were 37,356, while female allocations were 35,603.  Comparable figures for 2007 revealed 120,024 male and 95,182 female allocations.  See table 6.


 

Activity rates in 2012 less than 45% for all years

Employment and social welfare activity rates for foreign nationals in 2012 ranged from 35.3% (66,702) for 2007 allocations to 44.7% (28,718) for 2012 allocations.  The activity rate in the year of allocation has remained below 45% since 2008 when it stood at 55.3% (70,623).  See table 1.

For 2012 allocations EU15 nationals (excluding Ireland and the UK) had the highest percentage of activity in 2012 (56.8%) with 8,121 allocations recording PAYE employment or engagement with the social welfare system.  This was followed closely by nationals from the EU15 to EU25 states (55.5%) with 8,077 allocations having activity in the year.

Employment rate in year of arrival shows slight increase in 2012

A rise in employment activity for those PPSN allocations to foreign nationals in the year of arrival from 21,782 in 2011 to 24,842 in 2012 meant that the employment rate in the year of arrival of all foreign nationals increased marginally from 37.3% in 2011 to 38.7% in 2012.  See table 2.

The broad nationality group with the largest employment rate in the year of arrival  remained the EU15 (excl. Ireland and the UK) in 2012 at 52.8%,  while the EU25 to EU27 states had the largest annual proportional increase in the employment rate from 26.2% in 2011 to  33.1% in 2012.

Marginal annual increase in Social Welfare activity for 2007 PPSN allocations

In 2012 there were 43,271 PPSN allocations from 2007 with recorded social welfare activity which represents less than one-quarter (22.9%) of the 188,775 allocations in 2007.  The comparable figure for 2011 was marginally less at 42,244 (22.4%).  See table 3.

Across the nationality groups the largest percentage of 2007 allocations to have social welfare activity in 2012 was the EU15 to EU25 states (27.7%), with 27,295 of the 98,421 allocations in 2007 recording social welfare activity in 2012. 

It should be noted that there are several possible reasons for increases in social welfare activity by allocation year over time; the birth of a child leading to a child benefit claim, jobseekers claims, and the fact that some benefits depend on habitual residence requirements or on having sufficient social insurance benefits.
0
Year PPSN allocatedPPSN Allocations
2007215206
2008154784
200979499
201068446
201167440
201272959

Slight annual rise in PPSN allocations to foreign nationals in 2012

PPSN allocations to foreign nationals across all age groups were 72,959 in 2012. This was an increase of 5,519 (8.2%) when compared with allocations in 2011. 2012 represented the first rise in the number of allocations after falls in all years since 2007 when PPSN allocations to foreign nationals stood at 215,206. See table 5 and graph above.

Other main points which can be noted include:

  • A total of 312,539 foreign nationals who were assigned PPSNs during the period 2002-2012 recorded some employment during 2012.  The largest number were employed in Accommodation and food service activities (59,628), and five sectors accounted for 67.8% (211,884) of all foreign national employment activity in 2012.  See table 4.
  • Male and female allocations to foreign nationals were 37,365 and 35,603 respectively in 2012 which  compares with 120,024 males and 95,182 females in 2007. The proportion of new allocations to females was 48.8% in 2012, a rise when compared with 2007 when it stood at 44.2%.  See tables 6.
  • The UK had the highest number of allocations (12,753) in 2012 and has continued to account for the highest number of allocations by country since 2009.  Poland recorded the second highest number of allocations (8,656) in 2012 but this number is only 10.9% of the total allocations to Poland in 2007 (79,666).  See table 7
Table 1 - Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment and Social Welfare activity by broad nationality group and year of activity
        Numbers
 Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 years and overNumber with no activity 2007-2012Activity1 by year
Broad nationality group 200720082009201020112012
       
United Kingdom200717,8026,4248,7908,9817,6386,9606,6586,427
 200815,6346,1981457,5657,3775,9755,4485,149
 200911,0235,167591494,6974,2903,6293,311
 201011,3376,41435461053,9093,7853,179
 201111,0126,443182742943,8333,671
 201210,7877,05424253039813,726
          
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK200726,2746,30517,07814,5098,7436,6035,5154,887
 200824,3757,9685414,29610,7446,6765,3934,687
 200912,4014,93811346,1324,9973,6092,962
 201011,9234,19836196,4535,9014,369
 201111,9143,793478306,9416,298
 201214,3046,1802225188,121
          
EU15 to EU25 states200798,42119,76067,27059,58845,37041,10039,31338,286
 200850,32015,11422030,05122,95518,92017,89817,427
 200918,4627,4194477,8038,1107,2326,903
 201016,8835,841312538,4758,3827,386
 201114,1834,875113467,5237,521
 201214,5516,4720016528,077
          
EU25 to EU27 states200714,7985,6345,6156,7355,3574,7274,7595,093
 20086,8133,11292,4392,3132,0042,0072,178
 20092,4961,29701648774791873
 20102,8821,5300057281,0121,068
 20113,6521,88400051,0801,593
 20125,1133,253000131,860
          
USA20072,8331,2601,1891,064823689633580
 20082,6191,31216964879696579529
 20092,0551,210814604593478430
 20102,0571,3096716537587492
 20112,1971,4023568598666
 20122,2131,59001119623
          
Rest of the world200728,6475,43717,77818,86114,68112,97412,09511,429
 200827,9577,62810815,30814,97411,54910,6119,943
 200916,8495,969241237,2157,7556,6706,294
 201014,3666,140711515,5116,2424,964
 201115,3637,127356395,7876,981
 201217,22410,88046911416,311
          
Total foreign nationals2007188,77544,820117,720109,73882,61273,05368,97366,702
 2008127,71841,33255270,62359,24245,82041,93639,913
 200963,28626,00010636827,09926,51922,40920,773
 201059,44825,432548224925,61325,90921,458
 201158,32125,52429456522225,76226,730
 201264,19235,4293034436320428,718
1 Activity means any PAYE employment or any engagement with the social welfare system.  
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2012 Table 1 (XLS 36KB)
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Table 2 - Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment activity by broad nationality group and year of activity
        Numbers
 Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 years and overNumber with no employment activity 2007-2012Employment activity by year
       
Broad nationality group 200720082009201020112012
       
United Kingdom200717,8029,2046,5796,5534,8333,9673,5943,300
 200815,6349,239504,9724,6223,4152,9352,599
 200911,0237,3796482,6222,5962,0461,756
 201011,3377,97001182,5242,6302,007
 201111,0127,805111172,6192,610
 201210,7878,0600000102,722
          
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK200726,2746,97316,50013,9687,9125,6764,4923,803
 200824,3758,7533013,64810,0915,9714,6113,828
 200912,4015,5220175,5904,6213,2232,523
 201011,9234,6390086,0495,5974,064
 201111,9144,31902296,4885,930
 201214,3046,753000067,548
          
EU15 to EU25 states200798,42123,00364,25955,43137,71931,38228,40726,604
 200850,32017,22613128,32220,30715,54913,89912,974
 200918,4628,5590286,9517,0165,8425,321
 201016,8836,85913207,6757,3986,191
 201114,1835,795111126,7746,618
 201214,5517,171000067,378
          
EU25 to EU27 states200714,7986,3435,2626,1894,4973,7103,6533,900
 20086,8133,48972,2481,9941,6151,5821,695
 20092,4961,53000537586580639
 20102,8821,761002596816863
 20113,6522,11500049571,370
 20125,1133,423000021,690
          
USA20072,8331,4911,033851577430357300
 20082,6191,5477817680487350290
 20092,0551,37214489468344281
 20102,0571,457004430450356
 20112,1971,5410001503535
 20122,2131,67100004541
          
Rest of the world200728,6479,27314,27215,43611,1879,3338,3617,595
 200827,95711,7661911,74611,2848,0507,1396,428
 200916,8499,1622224,5735,1334,1323,765
 201014,3668,1372293,9244,6303,370
 201115,3638,87412244,4415,448
 201217,22412,228000044,963
          
Total foreign nationals2007188,77556,287107,90598,42866,72554,49848,86445,502
 2008127,71852,02024461,75348,97835,08730,51627,814
 200963,28633,524911920,76220,42016,16714,285
 201059,44830,823366121,19821,52116,851
 201158,32130,4493664721,78222,511
 201264,19239,30600003224,842
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2012 Table 2 (XLS 31KB)
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Table 3 - Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Social Welfare activity by broad nationality group and year of activity
        Numbers
 Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 years and overNumber with no S/W activity 2007-2012Social Welfare activity by year
Broad nationality group 200720082009201020112012
       
United Kingdom200717,80210,9853,1944,1424,5934,4854,5494,560
 200815,63410,1221053,2743,9203,4933,4783,495
 200911,0237,671571052,4182,2232,0772,034
 201011,3378,8703545871,7101,6721,639
 201111,0129,028172641771,4971,495
 201210,7879,52424253039711,256
          
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK200726,27421,5371,1981,9272,3812,2292,2652,203
 200824,37520,697251,2331,7451,7121,8071,875
 200912,40110,6551117775771906992
 201011,92310,5303611640756859
 201111,91410,75045621669846
 201214,30413,470222512831
          
EU15 to EU25 states200798,42161,0077,74417,36324,28425,89226,83527,295
 200850,32035,431904,1607,7639,42310,68011,281
 200918,46213,4194191,4562,7683,5374,056
 201016,88312,65929331,5772,7933,548
 201114,18311,418002341,4162,499
 201214,55113,1260016461,424
          
EU25 to EU27 states200714,79811,6035571,1291,6201,8072,0412,435
 20086,8135,6422249484617745950
 20092,4962,04001126228290396
 20102,8822,446003140250376
 20113,6523,2370001148393
 20125,1134,85000011263
          
USA20072,8332,321196318362361370370
 20082,6192,1889182277286292316
 20092,0551,794811138163176200
 20102,0571,8476712120171171
 20112,1972,0153567116163
 20122,2132,1160111598
          
Rest of the world200728,64719,8883,9284,9155,5705,8436,1846,408
 200827,95720,554904,0054,7664,8175,0635,302
 200916,84912,351231022,7752,9863,1143,236
 201014,36611,68359421,6851,8852,020
 201115,36313,185234351,4461,873
 201217,22415,73546911371,455
          
Total foreign nationals2007188,775127,34116,81729,79438,81040,61742,24443,271
 2008127,71894,63432113,10318,95520,34822,06523,219
 200963,28647,9301032557,6889,13910,10010,914
 201059,44848,03551761885,8727,5278,613
 201158,32149,6332639591755,2927,269
 201264,19258,821303443631725,327
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2012 Table 3 (XLS 30KB)
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Table 4 - Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment activity by economic sector and broad nationality group, 20121Numbers
Broad nationality group 
  United KingdomEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU27 statesUSARest of the worldTotal foreign nationals
  
Economic Sector (NACE Rev.2)
  
AAgriculture, forestry and fishing2401904,66236784815,948
BMining and quarrying38123064042402
CManufacturing2,1482,16724,7096512253,41733,317
DElectricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply10338595352260
EWater supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities88331,60914631262,005
FConstruction8264315,0381,106257128,138
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles5,0644,40131,2541,4984119,30951,937
HTransportation and storage1,2912,4207,2263374681612,136
IAccommodation and food service activities 2,5054,43831,8203,99436716,50459,628
JInformation and communication2,3956,3763,0733044413,93916,528
KFinancial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies2,1143,1882,4851083181,4279,640
LReal estate activities2501071,216207155552,350
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities2,2902,0313,7883703143,12511,918
NAdministrative and support service activities2,5458,49121,8962,3512618,08943,633
OPublic administration and defence; compulsory social security1,5293456581601163,7966,604
PEducation1,9842,0341,6312105062,3348,699
QHuman health and social work actvities3,1431,1736,08757026312,13323,369
RArts, entertainment and recreation8113441,640188658843,932
SOther service activities5312333,589616521,2776,298
TActivities of households as employers2126134110144336
Unknown5993033,326921051,0365,461
Total30,51538,781156,20613,2953,54470,198312,539
1 This table relates to those foreign nationals assigned PPSNs during the period 2002 to 2012 inclusive and employed during 2012.
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2012 Table 4 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 5 - Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by age group and broad nationality group
        Numbers
Year PPSN allocatedAge at allocationUKEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU27 statesUSARest of worldTotal foreign nationals1
         
20070-144,2801,18314,9276671,0044,37026,431
 15-243,76812,56347,2444,79183710,80080,003
 25-448,19112,39843,9788,7551,16116,28690,769
 45-644,4411,1307,0771,2265691,40015,843
 65+1,402183122262661612,160
 Total22,08227,457113,34815,4653,83733,017215,206
  
20080-144,2001,41815,4326938814,44227,066
 15-243,44911,38726,1442,69571810,39854,791
 25-446,75211,57320,4173,5831,10115,67459,100
 45-644,0181,2533,6605135411,47011,455
 65+1,41516299222594152,372
 Total19,83425,79365,7527,5063,50032,399154,784
         
20090-143,0299888,0104035083,27516,213
 15-242,2015,1989,4031,0515196,31024,682
 25-444,4206,1607,3311,2167439,16829,038
 45-643,0578791,6442075009727,259
 65+1,34516484222933992,307
 Total14,05213,38926,4722,8992,56320,12479,499
         
20100-142,1547643,2984064751,9018,998
 15-241,7994,9027,6661,1324045,71621,619
 25-444,3246,0257,4951,5286797,62227,673
 45-643,8437951,6282016087667,841
 65+1,37120194213662622,315
 Total13,49112,68720,1813,2882,53216,26768,446
         
20110-142,1509313,1864615151,8769,119
 15-241,8164,6576,3161,3163776,06420,546
 25-443,9046,1886,3212,0188138,28627,530
 45-643,8828611,4192956678157,939
 65+1,410208127233401982,306
 Total13,16212,84517,3694,1132,71217,23967,440
         
20120-141,9661,0152,8106334841,8598,767
 15-241,8015,5406,1991,6744006,68722,301
 25-443,9857,6526,7012,9638319,40531,537
 45-643,6579051,4864436618818,033
 65+1,344207165333212512,321
 Total12,75315,31917,3615,7462,69719,08372,959
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.  
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2012 Table 5 (XLS 12KB)
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Table 6 - Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by sex and broad nationality group
        Numbers
Year PPSN allocatedSexUKEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU27 statesUSARest of worldTotal foreign nationals1
         
2007Male 12,21914,82863,15010,2831,80517,739120,024
 Female9,86312,62950,1985,1822,03215,27895,182
 Total22,08227,457113,34815,4653,83733,017215,206
 
2008Male 10,99414,01933,3914,2271,63417,02881,293
 Female8,84011,77432,3613,2791,86615,37173,491
 Total19,83425,79365,7527,5063,50032,399154,784
 
2009Male 7,7887,15712,2331,5291,11110,27840,096
 Female6,2646,23214,2391,3701,4529,84639,403
 Total14,05213,38926,4722,8992,56320,12479,499
 
2010Male 7,5836,7829,6371,8051,2088,14635,161
 Female5,9085,90510,5441,4831,3248,12133,285
 Total13,49112,68720,1813,2882,53216,26768,446
 
2011Male 7,2066,9288,2552,2021,2118,75434,556
 Female5,9565,9179,1141,9111,5018,48532,884
 Total13,16212,84517,3694,1132,71217,23967,440
 
2012Male 7,0358,2228,2123,1401,2629,48537,356
 Female5,7187,0979,1492,6061,4359,59835,603
 Total12,75315,31917,3615,7462,69719,08372,959
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2012 Table 6 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 7 - Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by nationality1  
      Numbers
Nationality200720082009201020112012
UK22,08219,83414,05213,49113,16212,753
Poland79,66642,47113,7588,7358,0808,656
Brazil4,7745,5892,7304,2374,9285,537
Romania14,4596,7372,6222,9933,8335,277
Spain4,6914,6132,5902,3942,6033,928
France7,6777,0663,1072,8762,6722,912
Lithuania10,7086,4173,7594,3493,5572,860
USA3,8373,5002,5632,5322,7122,697
Italy4,7174,4452,2382,0432,0982,679
Germany4,5493,8312,0982,0992,1592,142
Hungary5,0914,5811,8001,5951,5611,984
India4,7734,3282,2421,4311,4741,852
Latvia4,6653,7213,9093,1272,1921,761
Slovakia8,4724,9901,7891,2851,0141,135
China1,5131,6831,2699789321,135
Portugal1,5172,1371,1237907081,128
Pakistan1,434909867481805740
Republic of Korea9471,146431558505678
Netherlands1,057903647647710658
Canada1,0661,215844702612612
Australia1,9691,8591,017694557595
Czech Republic3,8322,761901711620593
Sweden931753482628581501
Bulgaria1,006769277295280469
Nigeria1,6011,546896516480455
All other countries18,17216,98011,4888,2598,6059,222
Total215,206154,78479,49968,44667,44072,959
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages and is sorted in descending order of allocations in 2012.
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2012 Table 7 (XLS 10KB)
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Background Notes

 

Data sources

This analysis is based on three data sources:

  • The Central Records System of the Department of Social Protection.
  • The P35 files (employer end-of-year returns) of the Revenue Commissioners.
  • The Central Business Register of the Central Statistics Office.

The variables used were the date the PPSN was assigned, the nationality at that time, the age at that time, sex, and the NACE category of economic activity.

For some persons, employment is recorded before the year the PPSN was issued. These numbers, which are relatively small, have been blanked in the headline table for clarity but are included in the detailed tables.

Some pensioners are included in the P35 data, but their numbers are small.  Also, self-employed persons are excluded from the data from 2005 if they had no P35 self-employed income and if they had no other work as an employee.

Data analysis from 2002 is updated annually and available through the CSO Statbank at:

http://cso.ie/shorturl.aspx/213

 

Nationality groups

The category EU15 excl Ireland & the UK consists of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Finland and Sweden

The category EU15 to EU25 states consists of the states that joined the EU on 1 May 2004: the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

The category EU25 to EU27 states consist of Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU on 1 January 2007.

 

Definitions

Employment Activity: Employment activity for the purposes of this release includes any person appearing on the Revenue P35 files, or in the employment file within the Central Records System of the Department of Social Protection. The level of activity can vary from having worked one day in the year to working full-time throughout the year. Therefore the figures could include seasonal workers that arrive for the summer months and return to their country of origin at the end of the summer.

Social Welfare Activity: Social welfare activity for the purposes of this release includes any person appearing in the claims files within the Central Records System of the Department of Social Protection. This includes one off claims, such as dental and optical benefits, and ongoing claims, such as Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance, pensions and illness payments.

NACE Rev 2: Employment is classified using NACE Rev 2. Where persons had two or more employments during a year, they were allocated to the NACE category with the largest number of weeks of employment.

Arrivals: In this release, arrivals to Ireland in a particular year represent the number of PPS numbers allocated to foreign nationals in that year.

 

Background to the study

The results presented in this release are based on a data-matching exercise undertaken by the CSO, for statistical purposes, of administrative data from of the Department of Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners. This study was undertaken in line with the Statistics Act, 1993, and the CSO Data Protocol governing data matching exercises undertaken by the CSO (available at http://www.cso.ie/en/aboutus/csodataprotocol/ ).

 

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Contact:

Central Statistics Office
Skehard Road, Cork T12 X00E, Ireland

Tel:
(+353) 21 453 5000
E-Mail:
information@cso.ie

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