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E-mail: labour@cso.ie Martina O'Calllaghan +353 21 453 5491 Catalina Gonzalez +353 21 453 5163
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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

2015

         
Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 & overNumber with no employment activity 2010-2015Employment activity by year
201020112012201320142015
201059,13128,38021,15921,45916,77714,72913,54812,836
201158,13127,032 21,77122,48217,98015,76614,555
201264,15629,549  24,83226,07620,88418,414
201375,80135,848   28,90031,57725,526
201485,70640,530    35,17137,921
201582,77340,919     41,853

21.7% of foreign nationals assigned PPSNs in 2010 had employment activity in Ireland in 2015

Figure 1
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Of the 59,131 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who were assigned PPSNs (Personal Public Service Numbers) in 2010, 12,836 (21.7%) had employment activity at any time during 2015. See table 2.

This data is based upon 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 period 2002-2015.

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 82,773 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who were allocated new PPSNs in 2015, 41,853 had employment activity during the year.  See table 2.
  • Employment activity was recorded in 2015 for 374,466 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who received PPSNs in the period 2002–2015.  See table 4.
  • A total of 68,104 PPSN’s were allocated to foreign nationals in 2010, while in 2015 this number had risen to 94,707. Allocations to foreign national males in 2015 were 51,772 (54.7%), while female allocations were 42,935 (45.3%). Comparable figures for 2010 showed 35,026 (51.4%) male allocations and 33,078 (48.6%) female allocations.  See table 6.

 

Activity rate in the year of allocation is 50.6% in 2015

Employment and social welfare activity rates for foreign nationals in 2015 ranged from a low of 30.4% for 2010 allocations, where 17,990 of the 59,131 allocations had employment or interacted with the social welfare system in the year, to a high of 57.3%, where 47,418 of the 82,773 allocations were active, for 2015 allocations.

For 2015, foreign nationals from the EU15 to EU25 states had the highest activity rate in 2015, with 73.5% (9,759) of allocations recording employment or engagement with the social welfare system in the year. This was followed by nationals from the EU25 to EU28 with 70.2% (8,743) of allocations having activity in the year. The Rest of the World had 12,262 allocations in 2015, with a 54.2% activity rate in the year.  See table 1.

 

Employment activity rate in year of allocation shows a 9.5 percentage point increase in 2015

Employment activity for PPSN allocations to foreign nationals in the year of arrival increased from 35,171 in 2015 to 41,853 in 2015.  The employment activity rate in year of allocation has increased by 9.5 percentage points from 41.0% in 2014 to 50.6% in 2015.

The nationality group with the highest employment activity rate in the year of allocation is the EU15 to EU25 states in 2015 at 68.4%. The EU25 to EU28 states had the largest annual increase in the 2015 employment activity rate, increasing by 16.3 percentage points from 50.3% for 2014 allocations to 66.7% for 2015 allocations. See table 2.

 

Social Welfare activity rate in year of allocation increased to 9.7% in 2015

In 2015 the social welfare activity rate in the year of allocation was 9.7%, representing a rise of 1.2 percentage points from the 2014 rate of 8.5%. This compares to a social welfare activity rate in the year of allocation of 9.6% in 2010. In 2015, 10,075 (17.0%) of the 59,131 PPSN allocations from 2010 recorded social welfare activity. The comparable figure for 2010 allocations in 2014 was marginally less at 16.8% (9,913). 

Across the nationality groups the largest percentage of 2010 allocations to have social welfare activity in 2015 was the EU15 to EU25 states with 4,299 (25.5%), of the 10,075 allocations in 2010 recording social welfare activity in 2015. This is followed by the EU25 to EU28 states which have a social welfare activity rate of 22.8% in 2015 for 2010 allocations. See table 3.

 

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
201068104
201167226
201272904
201385158
201496158
201594707

PPSN allocations to foreign nationals decreased by 1.5% in 2015

Overall, PPSN allocations to foreign nationals across all age groups were 94,707 in 2015. This is a decrease of 1,451 (-1.5%) when compared with allocations in 2014. 2015 represented the first decrease in the number of allocations after increases in all years since 2011 when PPSN allocations to foreign nationals stood at 67,226. See table 5 and graph above.

Other main points which can be noted include:

  • A total of 374,466 foreign nationals who were assigned PPSNs during the period 2002-2015 recorded some employment during 2015. The largest numbers were employed in the Accommodation and food service activities sector (59,880). The largest five sectors (excluding Unknown) accounted for 61.2% (229,200) of all foreign national employment activity in 2015.  See table 4.
  • Male and female allocations to foreign nationals were 51,772 and 42,935 respectively in 2015, which compares with 35,026 males and 33,078 females in 2010. The proportion of new allocations to females was 45.3% in 2015, down from 48.6% in 2010. See table 6.
  • The UK had the highest number of allocations (16,124) in 2015, and has continued to account for the highest number of allocations by country since 2009.  Romania recorded the second highest number of allocations (8,635) in 2015. 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 2010–2015Activity1 by year
Broad nationality group 201020112012201320142015
       
United Kingdom201011,2616,1483,8383,7113,0982,8152,6682,540
 201110,9456,0581083,7803,6063,0842,7222,520
 201210,7646,02748903,7043,5722,9102,636
 201311,1916,55349561143,6233,6032,960
 201411,9737,2864240431093,7823,813
 201513,9469,70323232529604,241
         
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK201011,9693,9906,4765,9384,4023,6773,2192,919
 201111,9863,456336,9746,3484,8524,1173,591
 201214,3804,3407228,1657,7305,9515,003
 201316,8855,668*3379,1248,7396,723
 201418,8576,2525562810,47910,301
 201517,6976,13933333011,556
         
EU15 to EU25 states201016,8865,1888,4778,3857,3897,0846,9556,808
 201114,1934,037457,5277,5236,5736,2306,063
 201214,5694,1179578,0887,9726,8776,453
 201314,9434,13735608,6328,4197,214
 201414,0833,549367629,0348,444
 201513,2753,515***8579,759
          
EU25 to EU28 states20102,9231,2327531,0401,0841,1771,2171,257
 20113,7131,36451,1081,6281,7391,8101,867
 20125,2031,740*31,8952,7982,6542,666
 20138,1322,601**33,7954,6484,328
 201410,8353,213-**125,8976,779
 201512,4483,708----68,743
          
USA20102,0491,257535585487419387366
 20112,1841,3087588658546452430
 20122,2081,309*9619674538451
 20132,5081,530335676798622
 20142,7601,660***11832936
 20152,7681,911****11857
          
Rest of the world201014,0435,4835,3355,9924,6984,2914,1344,100
 201115,1106,004425,6666,7915,4975,0384,847
 201217,0327,08911446,2187,4816,3475,846
 201322,1429,89256537,5239,9438,508
 201427,19812,6044467510,17312,852
 201522,63910,3797812126112,262
         
Total foreign nationals201059,13123,29825,41425,65121,15819,46318,58017,990
 201158,13122,22724025,64326,55422,29120,36919,318
 201264,15624,6227722528,68930,22725,27723,055
 201375,80130,381627427233,37336,15030,355
 201485,70634,56456586529740,19743,125
 201582,77335,3553536425322547,418
1 Activity means any PAYE employment or any engagement with the social welfare system.
* Confidential
– No Data
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 2010–2015Employment activity by year
       
Broad nationality group 201020112012201320142015
       
United Kingdom201011,2617,6872,5122,6121,9901,6901,5451,430
 201110,9457,404172,6112,5972,0911,7651,579
 201210,7647,189-112,7152,6962,0681,787
 201311,1917,668--232,7082,7722,117
 201411,9738,383---132,8792,907
 201513,94610,384----103,561
          
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK201011,9694,4316,0765,6374,1023,3232,8192,507
 201111,9863,988116,5235,9804,5023,7203,157
 201214,3804,973-67,5837,2925,5454,580
 201316,8856,499--228,3058,2336,243
 201418,8577,024---109,7019,807
 201517,6976,674----1611,021
          
EU15 to EU25 states201016,8866,1217,6797,4076,2025,6635,3525,117
 201114,1934,908126,7836,6295,5064,9834,710
 201214,5694,965-67,3847,1295,8255,270
 201314,9435,069--177,8337,5146,126
 201414,0834,427---158,2757,587
 201513,2754,192----109,083
          
EU25 to EU28 states20102,9231,483619842879941931962
 20113,7131,62749791,3991,4661,4841,507
 20125,2032,097-*1,7232,4992,3012,247
 20138,1323,069--*3,4444,1953,816
 201410,8353,766---85,4546,244
 201512,4484,149----58,299
          
USA20102,0491,405428449354284244218
 20112,1841,459*498531404314283
 20122,2081,450-4538556408313
 20132,5081,683---581663480
 20142,7601,817---3732789
 20152,7682,003----5765
          
Rest of the world201014,0437,2533,8454,5123,2502,8282,6572,602
 201115,1107,64644,3775,3464,0113,5003,319
 201217,0328,875-44,8895,9044,7374,217
 201322,14211,860--116,0298,2006,744
 201427,19815,113---138,13010,587
 201522,63913,517----69,124
          
Total foreign nationals201059,13128,38021,15921,45916,77714,72913,54812,836
 201158,13127,0324921,77122,48217,98015,76614,555
 201264,15629,549-3324,83226,07620,88418,414
 201375,80135,848--7528,90031,57725,526
 201485,70640,530---6235,17137,921
 201582,77340,919----5241,853
* Confidential
– No Data
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 2010–2015Social Welfare activity by year
Broad nationality group 201020112012201320142015
       
United Kingdom201011,2618,4771,6461,6011,5681,5951,5991,607
 201110,9458,531911,4531,4471,4151,3841,370
 201210,7648,63448791,2451,3361,2651,274
 201311,1919,2634956911,1811,2721,264
 201411,97310,201424043961,2011,373
 201513,94612,9522323252951993
          
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK201011,9699,7726387659391,1191,1041,099
 201111,9869,851226758779921,0331,084
 201214,38012,0697168641,1341,1841,177
 201316,88514,595*3151,2071,2231,186
 201418,85716,965556181,2381,256
 201517,69716,787333314910
          
EU15 to EU25 states201016,88610,8091,5772,7863,5754,1534,3174,299
 201114,1939,366331,4122,5123,1143,4223,490
 201214,56910,1409511,4442,5863,1113,282
 201314,94311,04735431,6772,7253,068
 201414,08311,119367471,6672,623
 201513,27511,664***8471,610
          
EU25 to EU28 states20102,9232,054144255376508609666
 20113,7132,578*156403624808926
 20125,2033,768**2667289561,114
 20138,1326,287***6081,2681,480
 201410,8359,021-**48481,648
 201512,44811,414----*1,037
          
USA20102,0491,786120170167172187204
 20112,1841,9236110159185185201
 20122,2081,963*596160177192
 20132,5082,268335115184198
 20142,7602,556***8115184
 20152,7682,656****7112
          
Rest of the world201014,04310,8721,5771,7291,8361,9822,0972,200
 201115,11012,114381,3841,7741,9432,1402,270
 201217,03214,06211401,4351,9432,1572,344
 201322,14219,18056421,6352,1982,467
 201427,19823,901446632,2322,913
 201522,63919,291781212553,348
          
Total foreign nationals201059,13143,7705,7027,3068,4619,5299,91310,075
 201158,13144,3631915,1907,1728,2738,9729,341
 201264,15650,636771925,3507,8878,8509,383
 201375,80162,64062741976,4238,8709,663
 201485,70673,7635658652367,3019,997
 201582,77374,764353642531758,010
* Confidential
– No Data
Table 4 - Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment activity by economic sector and broad nationality group, 20151Numbers
  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 fishing2642204,5601,223194226,708
BMining and quarrying4481897-44292
CManufacturing2,4983,05527,1192,3563163,90939,253
DElectricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply117634717569318
EWater supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities89391,433366*952,024
FConstruction9384385,3782,342297489,873
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles5,3345,68432,1213,7585269,46456,887
HTransportation and storage1,2253,0667,0677964978812,991
IAccommodation and food service activities 2,7365,85027,1197,67238216,12159,880
JInformation and communication2,3889,6173,6919995396,09823,332
KFinancial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies2,2143,7592,9363553461,99211,602
LReal estate activities2922301,609401217593,312
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities2,4623,6633,6197673683,20314,082
NAdministrative and support service activities2,6979,34621,3585,9893649,39349,147
OPublic administration and defence; compulsory social security1,5934207462491313,3416,480
PEducation1,8992,4861,6053235712,7339,617
QHuman health and social work actvities3,3041,7407,3751,20227710,15524,053
RArts, entertainment and recreation7873991,370327899003,872
SOther service activities5813193,4991,362611,2077,029
TActivities of households as employers9376827*89231
Unknown 3,8454,23514,1063,2386127,44733,483
Total35,31654,674167,01533,7764,70878,977374,466
1 This table relates to those foreign nationals assigned PPSNs during the period 2002 to 2015 inclusive and employed during 2015.
* Confidential  
– No Data  
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
         
20100-142,1537633,2914124741,8808,973
 15-241,7794,9207,6621,1484035,63321,545
 25-444,2846,0537,5011,5536757,41727,483
 45-643,8287951,6292026057387,797
 65+1,37020194203662552,306
 Total13,41412,73220,1773,3352,52315,92368,104
         
20110-142,1509303,1784605151,8629,095
 15-241,8034,6806,3271,3333765,99020,509
 25-443,8626,2316,3192,0628108,12627,410
 45-643,8628651,4192956618057,907
 65+1,418210128233371892,305
 Total13,09512,91617,3714,1732,69916,97267,226
         
20120-141,9701,0142,8046364831,8418,748
 15-241,7955,5586,2051,7063976,63522,296
 25-443,9727,7026,7103,0148289,28031,506
 45-643,6459091,4914516608688,024
 65+1,352211163323232492,330
 Total12,73415,39417,3735,8392,69118,87372,904
         
20130-141,9811,3782,4199485372,0949,357
 15-241,6046,1386,1982,4524218,42325,236
 25-443,9599,3297,0474,95091212,26038,457
 45-644,1311,1521,5466847941,1029,409
 65+1,497266152463813572,699
 Total13,17218,26317,3629,0803,04524,23685,158
         
20140-141,8421,5282,6111,3476412,48310,452
 15-241,7587,2255,7153,1915249,49427,907
 25-444,31110,1686,7916,57199115,75044,582
 45-644,3481,2051,4111,0038261,37910,172
 65+1,556259166704195753,045
 Total13,81520,38516,69412,1823,40129,68196,158
         
20150-142,1781,5202,4801,6285653,56311,934
 15-241,8426,5425,2423,4034866,54624,061
 25-445,6469,6406,5667,94896714,29145,058
 45-644,8381,2321,3261,0209061,27110,593
 65+1,620283141774095313,061
 Total16,12419,21715,75514,0763,33326,20294,707
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.  
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
         
2010Male 7,5346,8039,6331,8321,2058,01935,026
 Female5,8805,92910,5441,5031,3187,90433,078
 Total13,41412,73220,1773,3352,52315,92368,104
 
2011Male 7,1636,9598,2542,2381,2068,64434,464
 Female5,9325,9579,1171,9351,4938,32832,762
 Total13,09512,91617,3714,1732,69916,97267,226
 
2012Male 7,0288,2648,2143,1971,2609,38337,346
 Female5,7067,1309,1592,6421,4319,49035,558
 Total12,73415,39417,3735,8392,69118,87372,904
 
2013Male 7,3539,6698,3795,1371,40712,53244,477
 Female5,8198,5948,9833,9431,63811,70440,681
 Total13,17218,26317,3629,0803,04524,23685,158
 
2014Male 7,73110,6068,5537,0961,54215,42150,949
Female6,0849,7798,1415,0861,85914,26045,209
Total13,81520,38516,69412,1823,40129,68196,158
2015Male 9,30110,1458,0768,5281,53014,19251,772
 Female6,8239,0727,6795,5481,80312,01042,935
 Total16,12419,21715,75514,0763,33326,20294,707
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.
Table 7 - Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by nationality1
      Numbers
Nationality201020112012201320142015
United Kingdom13,41413,09512,73413,17213,81516,124
Romania2,9903,8345,2847,7149,0768,635
Poland8,7278,0798,6609,2379,1198,590
Brazil4,1864,8685,4686,2297,7385,042
Spain2,3952,6063,9335,0105,1944,355
Croatia5160864882,2244,342
Italy2,0842,1512,7383,5874,2894,140
France2,8812,6742,9143,1763,7393,743
USA2,5232,6992,6913,0453,4013,333
Pakistan4617977388901,6153,166
India1,4111,4671,8532,6153,0573,130
Germany2,0992,1622,1422,1602,4092,458
Lithuania4,3463,5532,8612,5172,3172,336
Portugal7937191,1391,5861,9551,623
Hungary1,6001,5701,9911,8811,7241,616
Latvia3,1302,1891,7591,5691,3101,172
China9869421,1431,1141,4301,144
Bulgaria2942794698788821,099
Australia6935575926368821,038
Slovakia1,2851,0141,1391,0941,083958
Canada698609610741843886
Afghanistan7412487119159867
Netherlands648710659823885826
Czech Republic710621591693736716
Nigeria509472454544647614
All Other Countries9,1169,37510,16913,64015,62912,754
Total68,10467,22672,90485,15896,15894,707
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages and is sorted in descending order of allocations in 2015.

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 (Social Welfare activity) and 2005 (Employment activity) are 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. 

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.

 

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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