Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSN) were assigned to 75,720 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over in 2013.  Of those, 31,545 (41.7%) had employment activity in the year following allocation of PPSN, while 19,541 (25.8%) had employment activity at any time during 2018.  See table 2.

This data is based upon an annual analysis of records of the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and the CSO, based on foreign nationals who were allocated PPSNs during the period 2002-2018.

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 109,303 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who were allocated new PPSNs in 2018, 64,930 (59.4%) had employment activity during the year.  See table 2.

• Employment activity was recorded in 2018 for 491,639 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who received PPSNs in the period 2002–2018.  See table 4.

• A total of 85,021 PPSN’s were allocated to foreign nationals in 2013, while in 2018 this number had risen to 123,135. Allocations to male foreign nationals in 2018 were 66,289 (53.8%), while female allocations were 56,846 (46.2%). Comparable figures for 2013 showed 44,401 (52.2%) male allocations and 40,620 (47.8%) female allocations.  See table 6.