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E-mail: labour@cso.ie Martina O'Calllaghan +353 21 453 5491 Brian Cahill +353 21 453 5173
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

2013

         
Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 & overNumber with no employment activity 2008-2013Employment activity by year
200820092010201120122013
2008127,04850,643123,24597,66634,89030,30227,57625,904
200962,98432,504 41,49720,38816,12714,23213,074
201059,31029,789  21,18621,49516,82714,778
201158,25828,871   21,78422,50918,010
201264,19332,444    24,83526,086
201375,81246,897     28,902

One fifth of foreign nationals assigned PPSNs in 2008 had employment activity in Ireland in 2013

Figure 1 Employment Activity in 2008 - 2013 of those issued with PPSN's in 2008
go to full release

Of the 127,048 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who were assigned PPSNs (Personal Public Service Numbers) in 2008, 25,904 (20.4%) had employment activity at any time during 2013.  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 eleven-year period 2002-2013.

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:

  • Of the 75,812 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who were allocated new PPSNs in 2013, 28,902 (38.1%) had employment activity during the year.  See table 2.
  • Employment activity was recorded in 2013 for 320,246 of all foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who received PPSNs in the period 2002–2013.  See table 4.
  • A total of 154,065 PPSN’s were allocated to foreign nationals in 2008, while in 2013 this number had fallen to 85,170. Allocations to foreign national males in 2013 were 44,509 (52.3%), while female allocations were 40,661 (47.7%). Comparable figures for 2008 revealed 81,099 (52.6%) male allocations and 72,966 (47.4%) female allocations.  See table 6.

 

Activity rates in 2013 less than 50% from 2009

Employment and social welfare activity rates for foreign nationals in 2013 ranged from a low of 37.9% for 2009 allocations, where 23,871 of the 62,984 allocations had employment or interacted with the social welfare system in the year, to a high of 52.3%, where 33,583 of the 64,193 allocations were active, for 2012 allocations. The activity rate in the year of allocation was 46.0% in 2013 and has been below 50% since 2009 when it stood at 44.8%.  See table 1.

For 2013, foreign nationals from the EU15 to EU25 states had the highest activity rate in 2013, with 63.2% (9,441) of allocations recording employment or engagement with the social welfare system in the year. This was followed by nationals from the EU15 (excl Ireland & the UK) with 55.7% (9,400) of allocations having activity in the year.

 

Employment activity rate in year of arrival shows slight fall in 2013

Employment activity for PPSN allocations to foreign nationals in the year of arrival increased from 24,835 in 2012 to 28,902 (+16.4%) in 2013. However, as the number of allocations increased by 18.1% in the year, the employment activity rate in year of allocation has fallen 0.6 percentage points from 38.7% in 2012 to 38.1% in 2013. See table 2.

The nationality group with the highest employment activity rate in the year of allocation is the EU15 to EU25 states in 2013 at 52.4%. The EU25 to EU27 states had the largest annual percentage increase in 2013 employment activity rate, rising by 9.3 percentage points from 33.1% in 2012 to 42.4% in 2013. See table 2

 

Marginal annual increase in Social Welfare activity for 2008 PPSN allocations

In 2013, 22,573 (17.8%) of the 127,048 PPSN allocations from 2008 recorded social welfare activity. The comparable figure for 2012 was marginally less at 17.6% (22,307). In the period 2008 to 2013 the social welfare activity rate in the year of allocation has varied from a high of 11.8% in 2009 to a low of 7.8% in 2013. See table 3.

Across the nationality groups the largest percentage of 2008 allocations to have social welfare activity in 2013 was the EU15 to EU25 states, with 11,224 (22.3%) of the 50,341 allocations in 2008 recording social welfare activity in 2013. This is followed by the United Kingdom which had a social welfare activity rate of 20.9% in 2013 for 2008 allocations.

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
2008154065
200979161
201068291
201167365
201272947
201385170

 

Slight annual rise in PPSN allocations to foreign nationals in 2013

Overall, PPSN allocations to foreign nationals across all age groups were 85,170 in 2013. This is an increase of 12,223 (16.8%) when compared with allocations in 2012. 2012 represented the first rise in the number of allocations after falls in all years since 2008 when PPSN allocations to foreign nationals stood at 154,065. See table 5 and graph above.

Other main points which can be noted include:

  • A total of 320,246 foreign nationals who were assigned PPSNs during the period 2002-2013 recorded some employment during 2013.  The largest numbers were employed in Accommodation and food service activities (58,511) The largest five sectors accounted for 65.4% (209,433) of all foreign national employment activity in 2013.  See table 4.
  • Male and female allocations to foreign nationals were 44,509 and 40,661 respectively in 2013, which compares with 81,099 males and 72,966 females in 2008. The proportion of new allocations to females was 47.7% in 2013, similar to 2008 when it stood at 47.4%.  See tables 6.
  • The UK had the highest number of allocations (13,167) in 2013, and has continued to account for the highest number of allocations by country since 2009.  Poland recorded the second highest number of allocations (9,235) in 2013. 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 2008-2013Activity1 by year
Broad nationality group 200820092010201120122013
       
United Kingdom200815,5376,1528,1388,3966,7426,2255,8965,666
 200910,9555,1231524,9684,7133,9993,6353,392
 201011,2916,330481084,1814,2263,5583,231
 201110,9786,2703450994,0724,0453,455
 201210,7736,364263443833,9463,977
 201311,1847,601384041481053,814
          
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK200824,4077,89714,89611,8597,7026,4415,7795,323
 200912,4184,860366,3755,4064,1433,5543,219
 201011,9554,1106186,7046,3815,0184,337
 201111,9533,636911327,1796,8225,413
 201214,3484,720558218,4308,339
 201316,8687,8380113379,400
          
EU15 to EU25 states200850,34114,87632,49628,07224,95424,50624,14723,577
 200918,4757,178478,4119,7849,3579,3579,210
 201016,8835,53213529,24710,1679,7119,545
 201114,1864,47413468,1879,1108,421
 201214,5694,7550110578,8229,576
 201314,9426,3280135599,441
          
EU25 to EU28 states20086,9232,9652,5492,5302,2712,3592,6662,996
 20092,5601,22316968579131,0661,215
 20102,9291,382057631,0961,2551,436
 20113,7111,6171151,1351,7972,060
 20125,1962,21500131,9803,178
 20138,1284,344111134,028
          
USA20082,6071,308990943758624587553
 20092,0481,19616619626513472419
 20102,0511,294615543615517448
 20112,1931,354568614693587
 20122,2091,39311110633709
 20132,5101,83823335690
          
Rest of the world200827,2337,37815,18315,31812,08211,35210,80810,362
 200916,5285,7761207,1287,8036,8676,5996,416
 201014,2015,85511545,4986,3415,1954,884
 201115,2376,56833385,7947,1895,997
 201217,0988,2446911436,3217,804
 201322,18014,8332245477,480
          
Total foreign nationals2008127,04840,57674,25267,11854,50951,50749,88348,477
 200962,98425,35637228,19729,18925,79224,68323,871
 201059,31024,5038425226,93628,82625,25423,881
 201158,25823,919537422826,98129,65625,933
 201264,19327,69138507421730,13233,583
 201375,81242,7824348536525634,853
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 2013 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 2008-2013Employment activity by year
       
Broad nationality group 200820092010201120122013
       
United Kingdom200815,5379,0829,9009,1943,3932,9112,5732,424
 200910,9557,229965,2332,5832,0381,7421,546
 201011,2917,8522362,5212,6212,0021,699
 201110,9787,60122172,6192,6092,101
 201210,7737,472000102,7142,698
 201311,1848,4710000242,705
          
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK200824,4078,67127,33220,2355,9984,6343,8513,424
 200912,4185,4533411,1994,6363,2372,5342,182
 201011,9554,5560166,0645,6234,0913,311
 201111,9534,15755106,5105,9564,482
 201214,3485,35800067,5747,272
 201316,8688,5720000228,294
          
EU15 to EU25 states200850,34116,90056,66140,63215,56413,91612,99212,353
 200918,4758,2995613,9167,0255,8515,3355,035
 201016,8836,5356407,6777,4016,1955,657
 201114,1865,38622126,7786,6245,501
 201214,5695,61200067,3837,127
 201314,9427,1060000177,832
          
EU25 to EU28 states20086,9233,3774,5884,0791,6451,6081,7191,816
 20092,5601,46401,123618611661704
 20102,9291,63604621844882945
 20113,7111,8750049801,3991,466
 20125,1962,52600021,7192,493
 20138,1284,684000023,444
          
USA20082,6071,5321,6281,352482345288253
 20092,0481,3588974467342279222
 20102,0511,43608428449354284
 20112,1931,503001502534405
 20122,2091,5100004539557
 20132,5101,92900000581
          
Rest of the world200827,23311,08123,13622,1747,8086,8886,1535,634
 200916,5288,701449,0525,0594,0483,6813,385
 201014,2017,7744183,8754,5573,3032,882
 201115,2378,3494444,3955,3874,055
 201217,0989,96600044,9065,939
 201322,18016,1350000116,046
          
Total foreign nationals2008127,04850,643123,24597,66634,89030,30227,57625,904
 200962,98432,50423841,49720,38816,12714,23213,074
 201059,31029,7891212221,18621,49516,82714,778
 201158,25828,87113134821,78422,50918,010
 201264,19332,4440003224,83526,086
 201375,81246,89700007628,902
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2013 Table 2 (XLS 36KB)
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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 2008-2013Social Welfare activity by year
Broad nationality group 200820092010201120122013
       
United Kingdom200815,53710,0143,1903,8033,3493,3143,3233,242
 200910,9557,6081042,3532,1301,9611,8931,846
 201011,2918,73447901,6601,6051,5561,532
 201110,9788,8313349821,4531,4361,354
 201210,7739,069263443731,2321,279
 201311,18410,07338404148811,109
          
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK200824,40720,4491,2271,7391,7041,8071,9281,899
 200912,41810,468197737709061,0201,037
 201011,95510,1796106407589271,026
 201111,95310,4046822669866931
 201214,34812,869558158561,067
 201316,86815,7610113151,106
          
EU15 to EU25 states200850,34134,5334,1647,7559,39010,59011,15511,224
 200918,47512,878191,4512,7593,5064,0224,175
 201016,88311,84510321,5702,7663,5163,888
 201114,18610,59202341,4092,4862,920
 201214,56911,8390110511,4392,449
 201314,94213,3330135421,609
          
EU25 to EU28 states20086,9235,4642564926267519471,180
 20092,5601,9651134239302405511
 20102,9292,32803142252373491
 20113,7113,056111155398594
 20125,1964,4500011261685
 20138,1287,54311111584
          
USA20082,6072,176177268276279299300
 20092,0481,77612132159171193197
 20102,0511,828611115166163164
 20112,1931,974567112159182
 20122,2092,041111694152
 20132,5102,40123335109
          
Rest of the world200827,23320,0723,6614,2824,2744,4644,6554,728
 200916,52812,063982,6122,7442,8192,9183,031
 201014,20111,3689451,6231,7841,8922,002
 201115,23712,76411341,3991,8021,942
 201217,09814,9436911391,4151,865
 201322,18020,7482245361,434
          
Total foreign nationals2008127,04892,70812,67518,33919,61921,20522,30722,573
 200962,98446,7582537,4558,8019,66510,45110,797
 201059,31046,282781915,7507,3318,4279,103
 201158,25847,62146671805,1977,1477,923
 201264,19355,2113850741855,2977,497
 201375,81269,859434853651805,951
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2013 Table 3 (XLS 36KB)
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Table 4 - Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment activity by economic sector and broad nationality group, 20131Numbers
Broad nationality group 
  United KingdomEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU28 statesUSARest of the worldTotal foreign nationals
  
Economic Sector (NACE Rev.2)
  
AAgriculture, forestry and fishing2402074,599659104636,178
BMining and quarrying4662896036383
CManufacturing2,2302,36325,6931,0092523,35434,901
DElectricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply107435810847273
EWater supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities82321,54021231071,976
FConstruction8454814,7791,265246378,031
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles5,0574,66631,0242,0424258,56451,778
HTransportation and storage1,2502,7137,1323974772512,264
IAccommodation and food service activities 2,5154,90330,1805,37633715,20058,511
JInformation and communication2,3016,9403,1804894644,41117,785
KFinancial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies2,1813,5532,5641763231,52110,318
LReal estate activities2491351,243216165282,387
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities2,3552,5423,6394443232,63311,936
NAdministrative and support service activities2,3348,51521,1153,1082627,28742,621
OPublic administration and defence; compulsory social security1,5273336771561023,3996,194
PEducation2,0352,2081,7042495412,4199,156
QHuman health and social work actvities3,0501,2886,30370923910,03321,622
RArts, entertainment and recreation8083771,617269618263,958
SOther service activities5442533,478847471,1436,312
TActivities of households as employers1522122161110286
Unknown 1,5431,2306,5438552102,99513,376
Total31,31442,810157,47918,5103,69566,438320,246
1 This table relates to those foreign nationals assigned PPSNs during the period 2002 to 2013 inclusive and employed during 2013.
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2013 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 EU28 statesUSARest of worldTotal foreign nationals1
         
20080-144,1961,41915,4206978824,40327,017
 15-243,42211,39526,1502,73171510,20054,613
 25-446,69611,59520,4323,6491,09915,18758,658
 45-644,0111,2533,6625225401,43711,425
 65+1,40816497212534092,352
 Total19,73325,82665,7617,6203,48931,636154,065
         
20090-143,0329928,0034055083,23716,177
 15-242,1805,2069,4081,0685176,21924,598
 25-444,3776,1657,3381,2597418,96328,843
 45-643,0558821,6482114989537,247
 65+1,34316581222923932,296
 Total13,98713,41026,4782,9652,55619,76579,161
         
20100-142,1557633,2934114741,8858,981
 15-241,7854,9157,6631,1494045,66921,585
 25-444,3006,0467,4961,5586757,51927,594
 45-643,8377931,6302026077537,822
 65+1,36920194203652602,309
 Total13,44612,71820,1763,3402,52516,08668,291
         
20110-142,1529303,1794605151,8719,107
 15-241,8074,6706,3211,3313776,03020,536
 25-443,8816,2116,3192,0628118,20527,489
 45-643,8758621,4182956668127,928
 65+1,415210128233391902,305
 Total13,13012,88317,3654,1712,70817,10867,365
         
20120-141,9711,0142,8056364841,8448,754
 15-241,8015,5496,2041,7043976,65122,306
 25-443,9747,6806,7113,0088289,32531,526
 45-643,6529081,4904516618718,033
 65+1,346211164333232512,328
 Total12,74415,36217,3745,8322,69318,94272,947
         
20130-141,9831,3772,4199485372,0949,358
 15-241,6056,1306,2002,4514208,43325,239
 25-443,9639,3177,0444,94891312,28438,469
 45-644,1311,1541,5476837961,1049,415
 65+1,485267151463813592,689
 Total13,16718,24517,3619,0763,04724,27485,170
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.  
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2013 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 EU28 statesUSARest of worldTotal foreign nationals1
         
2008Male 10,95114,03433,4234,2861,62816,77781,099
 Female8,78211,79232,3383,3341,86114,85972,966
 Total19,73325,82665,7617,6203,48931,636154,065
 
2009Male 7,7597,16912,2431,5551,10910,15139,986
 Female6,2286,24114,2351,4101,4479,61439,175
 Total13,98713,41026,4782,9652,55619,76579,161
 
2010Male 7,5536,7989,6381,8361,2088,06435,097
 Female5,8935,92010,5381,5041,3178,02233,194
 Total13,44612,71820,1763,3402,52516,08668,291
 
2011Male 7,1886,9458,2492,2351,2088,68834,513
 Female5,9425,9389,1161,9361,5008,42032,852
 Total13,13012,88317,3654,1712,70817,10867,365
 
2012Male 7,0388,2498,2183,1971,2639,41537,380
 Female5,7067,1139,1562,6351,4309,52735,567
 Total12,74415,36217,3745,8322,69318,94272,947
 
2013Male 7,3609,6628,3845,1381,40912,55644,509
 Female5,8078,5838,9773,9381,63811,71840,661
 Total13,16718,24517,3619,0763,04724,27485,170
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2013 Table 6 (XLS 10KB)
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Table 7 - Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by nationality1  
      Numbers
Nationality200820092010201120122013
United Kingdom19,73313,98713,44613,13012,74413,167
Poland42,45413,7548,7298,0778,6589,235
Romania6,7272,6292,9943,8325,2777,710
Brazil5,5502,7094,2024,8955,5056,250
Spain4,6152,5892,3952,6023,9325,011
Italy4,4682,2552,0722,1282,7083,569
France7,0633,1082,8792,6742,9153,176
United States of America3,4892,5562,5252,7082,6933,047
India4,2312,2321,4271,4721,8532,614
Lithuania6,4193,7564,3493,5512,8632,519
Venezuela65511693454082,218
Germany3,8322,0962,0982,1602,1412,160
Hungary4,5921,8081,5971,5661,9901,882
Portugal2,1471,1287927151,1361,584
Latvia3,7223,9093,1272,1911,7601,568
China1,7051,2849899411,1471,113
Slovakia4,9981,7931,2851,0141,1381,094
Republic of Korea1,1434315575056791,043
Pakistan861843474802740890
Bulgaria769278296279469878
Netherlands904648647710659823
Canada1,211840699610609741
Czech Republic2,764901710621593693
Australia1,8551,018694557591637
Nigeria1,520887516478455544
All Other Countries17,22811,6718,6238,8029,28411,004
Total154,06579,16168,29167,36572,94785,170
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages and is sorted in descending order of allocations in 2013.
Open in Excel: Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity 2013 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://www.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 EU28 states consist of Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU on 1 January 2007 and Croatia on 1 July 2013.

 

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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Central Statistics Office
Skehard Road, Cork T12 X00E, Ireland

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

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