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For more information on this release:
E-mail: busreg@cso.ie Patrick Kelleher +353 21 453 5048 Barry Sobey +353 21 453 5355
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-6402
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Business Demography

2012

 20082009201020112012% Change 2008-2012% Change 2011-2012
        
Number of enterprises216,265206,575195,431189,055185,530-14.2%-1.9%
Person's engaged1,503,0341,308,7861,237,3851,223,0471,219,854-18.8%-0.3%
Enterprise births11,95413,81011,23711,84712,5515.0%5.9%
Enterprise deaths20,60124,51118,30818,076..  

Number of enterprises down 2% in 2012

Figure 1 Number of Active Enterprises
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This release provides data on the “Business Demography” of Ireland for reference year 2012 and earlier years. The detailed tables provided with this release present a breakdown of the numbers of active enterprises and newly birthed and ceased enterprises, classified by economic activity, employment size and legal form. Related employment data is also outlined. A detailed county level breakdown is also provided in relation to active enterprises and employment only.

There were over 185,000 active enterprises in the private business economy1 in Ireland in 2012, with over 1.2 million persons engaged2. This represents a decrease of 1.9% and 0.3% respectively from 2011. See summary table. The services sector3 accounted for almost half (48.6%) of all enterprises in 2012, with the construction sector accounting for less than a fifth (18.2%). In 2008 construction accounted for over 26% of total enterprises and 23% in 2009. See figures 1 - 3 and summary table.

When comparing the trend for the number of persons engaged in the private business economy to the number of active enterprises, we see different patterns emerging in the services and construction sectors. In 2012 the services sector accounted for 43% of all persons engaged while in 2008 and 2009 it accounted for over 39% and 41% respectively. Construction accounted for 6.3% of all persons engaged in 2012, down from 12.7% in 2008 and 9.6% in 2009. See figures 4 & 5.

 

For long labels below use
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Percentage of Enterprises by Sector 2012
Services48.6
Distribution22.8
Industry7.3
Construction18.3
Financial Service Activities3
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to display on multiple lines
Percentage of Enterprises by Sector 2008
Services43.2
Distribution21.1
Industry7
Construction26.4
Financial Service Activities2.3

Small and medium sized enterprises4 accounted for 99.7% of the total enterprise population for 2012. They also accounted for 68% of total persons engaged, with large enterprises (employing 250 or more persons) employing over 30% of persons engaged, despite accounting for only a small fraction of total enterprise numbers. See figure 6.

 

For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines
Percentage of Persons Engaged by Sector 2012
Services43
Distribution26.6
Industry16.2
Construction6.3
Financial Service Activities7.9
For long labels below use
to display on multiple lines
Percentage of Persons Engaged by Sector 2008
Services39.3
Distribution25
Industry16.5
Construction12.7
Financial Service Activities6.6
>
Enterprises (%)Persons Engaged (%)
Under 1090.726.52
10-497.7422.54
50-2491.318.91
250 and over0.2632.04

This Business Demography release relates to reference year 2012, however data on enterprise deaths5 are available up to reference year 2011 only. All enterprise births6 were followed for 5 years (2007 to 2012) to assess their survival rate and the resulting effect on employment.

Over 28% of all enterprises that were active during 2012 began trading in the period 2007 – 2012 inclusive. These enterprises accounted for over 10% of persons engaged in the private business economy in 2012. The one year survival rate (relating to enterprises born in 2011 and still active in 2012) decreased from 2007 to 2011 but increased slightly in 2012. Of the 13,461 enterprises birthed in 2007, 6,513 or 48.4% survived to reference year 2012. See figure 7.

 

X-axis labelOne YearTwo YearsThree YearsFour YearsFive Years
200811579
20091025210186
20101133691338529
20119387979972957124
201299308100856165786513

Over 12,551 enterprise births occurred in 2012, an increase of nearly 6% on 2011. There were over 11,200 persons engaged in these newly birthed enterprises.

Sector L7 “Real Estate Activities” had the highest enterprise birth rate of 25.9% (835 enterprises). The second highest was 19.9% in sector K “Financial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies” (446 enterprises).The number of births in sector F “Construction” increased from 1,976 to 1,985, but is still below 2008 birth levels and less than 35% of the 2006 peak (5,717).

A large decrease (20.6%) in the number of births was recorded in sector D “Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply”, a sector with relatively low enterprise numbers. Sectors B “Mining and Quarrying”, E “Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities” and I “Accommodation and food service activities” also experienced small decreases with increases observed in all other sectors. See figure 8.

 

IndustryServicesConstructionDistributionFinancial
2007672627538242202487
2008647619424892298325
2009814725622783012449
2010628594418182413370
2011674644019762335372
2012774683719852509446

Over 18,000 enterprises ceased during 20118, resulting in a loss of over 23,000 jobs. This represents 1.3% fewer enterprise deaths than 2010. The sector with the largest reduction in the number of enterprises was sector F “Construction” with over 11.6% of enterprises ceasing in 2011. This was followed by sector J “Information and communication” at almost 10.2%.

IndustryServicesConstructionDistributionFinancial
2006554505840762038202
2007829686464772714379
20081021732589232948383
200913391045079564217549
20101085828951623382389
20111063840446793504427

In terms of employment, sector G “Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motor Cycles” had the most persons engaged in ceased enterprises, with a loss of 5,045 jobs. The second highest was sector F “Construction” with a loss of just over 4,900 jobs. As can be seen from figure 10, the number of persons engaged from enterprise births remained relatively steady overall in 2011 and 2012, while the number of persons engaged in ceased enterprises decreased in 2011 overall.

BirthsDeaths
20061758116973
20071492226695
20081359432143
20091239734733
20101047524891
20111070023581
201211207

In EU terms9 (latest data available is for 2011), Ireland’s largest sector of active enterprises, the services sector at 48%, is higher than the EU average (45.5%) but lower than Germany (51%), and the UK (55%). Sweden has the largest reliance on the services sector at nearly 56%. In 2011, Ireland had the second largest percentage share of active enterprises in the EU for sector F “Construction” at 19%. This compares to 14% for the EU average, the UK at 16% and Germany at 13%. Slovakia had the largest percentage of active enterprises in construction at 20% (a position held by Ireland in 2010). Bulgaria had the smallest percentage at nearly 6% followed closely by Turkey at 7%. See figure 11.

Industry (%)Services (%)Construction (%)Distribution (%)Financial (%)
Belgium7.347.216.526.82.2
Bulgaria10.5386.443.71.4
Czech Republic17.337.816.625.62.7
Germany10.751.21322.92.2
Estonia10.950.212.824.71.4
Ireland7.347.619.422.72.9
Spain7.644.517.4282.5
France8.844.917.626.62.1
Italy11.441.115.130.12.3
Latvia10.749.78.429.22
Lithuania11.433.513.940.11
Luxembourg3.455.111.425.15
Hungary9.749.311.424.94.7
Malta9.142.813.533.21.4
Netherlands6.351.615.523.72.9
Austria9.653.79.724.82.2
Poland12.834.315.633.73.6
Portugal8.947.611.729.32.5
Romania12.236.410.740.70
Slovenia1545.517.220.61.7
Slovakia15.833.22029.91.1
Finland10.749.616.720.92.1
Sweden8.556.413.919.61.6
United Kingdom7.355.315.520.21.7
Norway7.654.118.418.71.2
Turkey13.237.7740.71.4
Table 1: Active Enterprises (Number) by Activity and Year
Number of Enterprises
     
  200720082009201020112012
     
Mining and quarrying (B)..407397381354353
Manufacturing (C)13,58313,69713,36312,79012,29011,999
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (D)..221301310325326
Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (E)800829862825853874
Construction (F)61,08257,04246,65540,45936,74733,879
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G)44,83445,73245,34743,98142,96642,210
Transportation and storage (H)11,99011,92611,30610,57210,1719,937
Accommodation and food service activities (I)16,36116,90516,82216,51116,34016,279
Information and communication (J)9,69610,13710,07610,05710,29710,764
Financial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies (K-642)4,7474,9015,2715,2825,4545,658
Real estate activities (L)10,66810,85312,07511,67311,42311,637
Professional, scientific and technical activities (M)29,70931,07831,71830,80130,44030,325
Administrative and support service activities (N)12,15012,53712,38211,78911,39511,289
Business economy excluding activities of holding companies (B to N,-642)216,198216,265206,575195,431189,055185,530
Education (P)5,0945,4086,9337,1547,4247,586
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (R)........4,8784,877
NACE code 64.20 Activities of holding companies is excluded from sector K.
.. indicates that the data has been suppressed to protect the confidentiality of individual enterprises.
Table 2: Persons Engaged (Number) by Activity and Year
Number of Persons Engaged
     
  200720082009201020112012
      
Mining and quarrying (B)..7,5636,2085,1734,2344,179
Manufacturing (C)229,912222,412193,027181,156181,257176,690
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (D)..9,5469,9119,4609,0868,958
Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (E)7,8748,0927,8147,7537,9357,919
Construction (F)229,525190,364126,14798,44585,30676,602
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G)370,601375,361341,205329,917326,303324,366
Transportation and storage (H)84,40589,87582,42878,15678,13375,944
Accommodation and food service activities (I)165,005165,219150,083145,035146,024150,364
Information and communication (J)69,37271,29467,37866,67167,32470,785
Financial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies (K-642)94,98198,90493,52394,32694,32896,736
Real estate activities (L)23,84923,54922,27421,58422,24422,648
Professional, scientific and technical activities (M)120,020122,973108,949103,526103,386104,652
Administrative and support service activities (N)115,376117,88299,83996,18397,487100,011
Business economy excluding activities of holding companies (B to N,-642)1,528,2951,503,0341,308,7861,237,3851,223,0471,219,854
Education (P)135,111142,385148,587145,148139,705143,185
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (R)........31,35931,332
NACE code 64.20 Activities of holding companies is excluded from sector K.
.. indicates that the data has been suppressed to protect the confidentiality of individual enterprises.
Table 3: Persons Engaged (Number) by Size Class and Year
  Number of Persons Engaged
  200720082009201020112012
Business economy excluding activities of holding companies (B to N,-642)    
All persons engaged size classes1,528,2951,503,0341,308,7861,237,3851,223,0471,219,854
Under 10409,066398,805356,219336,581329,639323,502
10-19169,149161,923139,130130,962127,156124,130
20 - 49208,575201,188167,025154,477149,565150,772
50 - 249306,014295,933245,282232,498232,469230,641
250 and over435,491445,185401,130382,867384,218390,809
NACE code 64.20 Activities of holding companies is excluded from sector K.
 
.. indicates that the data has been suppressed to protect the confidentiality of individual enterprises.
Table 4: Enterprise Births (Number) by Activity and Year
  Number of Enterprise Births
  200720082009201020112012
 
Mining and quarrying (B)162121..2321
Manufacturing (C)576540678590604663
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (D)263344383427
Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (E)545371..6463
Construction (F)3,8242,4892,2781,8181,9761,985
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G)2,2022,2983,0122,4132,3352,509
Transportation and storage (H)658583762494545577
Accommodation and food service activities (I)9131,1151,3631,2021,2781,243
Information and communication (J)8798649369281,0681,183
Financial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies (K-642)487325449370372446
Real estate activities (L)958700862687663835
Professional, scientific and technical activities (M)1,9302,1332,5681,9552,1372,222
Administrative and support service activities (N)937799765678749777
Business economy excluding activities of holding companies (B to N,-642)13,46111,95413,81011,23711,84712,551
Education (P)......378328361
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (R)........333366
NACE code 64.20 Activities of holding companies is excluded from sector K.
 
.. indicates that the data has been suppressed to protect the confidentiality of individual enterprises.
Table 5: Preliminary Enterprise Deaths (Number) by Activity and Year
  Number of Enterprise Deaths
  200720082009201020112012
 
Mining and quarrying (B)182731..28..
Manufacturing (C)7369241,177951949..
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (D)191939..24..
Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (E)5651926862..
Construction (F)6,4778,9237,9565,1624,679..
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G)2,7142,9484,2173,3823,504..
Transportation and storage (H)9029931,349960913..
Accommodation and food service activities (I)1,1701,1871,7411,4111,456..
Information and communication (J)8619651,2361,0081,029..
Financial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies (K-642)379383549389427..
Real estate activities (L)1,0979241,4051,1781,177..
Professional, scientific and technical activities (M)1,9762,2143,3232,7052,762..
Administrative and support service activities (N)8581,0421,3961,0271,067..
Business economy excluding activities of holding companies (B to N,-642)17,26320,60124,51118,30818,076..
Education (P)238381562405391..
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (R)......430454..
NACE code 64.20 Activities of holding companies is excluded from sector K.
.. indicates that the data has been suppressed to protect the confidentiality of individual enterprises.

Background Notes

This release covers the reference year 2012, however data on enterprise deaths relates to 2011. Statistics are also provided on enterprise births since 2006 that were still active during 2011 and 2012. All 2012 enterprise births will be followed for 5 years to assess their survival rate and the resulting effect on employment.

 

Detailed data tables are available on CSO’s data dissemination service at:

http://www.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/database/eirestat/Business%20Demography/Business%20Demography_statbank.asp?sp=Business Demography&Planguage=0

The Background Notes at the link below provide more details on the release:

http://www.cso.ie/en/surveysandmethodology/multisectoral/businessdemography/backgroundnotes/

For further information on the NACE Rev. 2 classification of economic activity, see this link:

http://www.cso.ie/en/surveysandmethodology/classifications/classificationofindustrialactivity/

 

Footnotes:

1 The private business economy covers the NACE Rev 2 sectors B - N (excluding 64.20 Activities of holding companies). For comparison with previous Business Demography releases only sectors B – N (excluding 64.20 Activities of holding companies) figures are included in the release text. Sectors P & R are an extension of the coverage in recent years.

The full list of Rev 2 sectors covered is:

B – Mining and Quarrying

C – Manufacturing

D – Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply

E – Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste management and Remediation Activities

F – Construction

G – Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles

H – Transportation and Storage

I – Accommodation and Food Service Activities

J – Information and Communication

K – Financial and Insurance Activities (excludes NACE code 64.20

Activities of holding companies)

L – Real Estate Activities

M – Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities

N – Administrative and Support Service Activities

P – Education

R – Arts, Entertainment and Recreation

 

2 Persons engaged includes employees, working proprietors and family members.

 

3 The composition of sectors used in the graph is as follows:

- Services: Sectors H,I,J,L,M,N

- Distribution: Sector G

- Industry: Sectors B,C,D,E

- Construction: Sector F

- Financial Service Activities: Sector K excluding 64.20, Activities of holding companies.

 

4 Small and Medium Enterprises are defined as enterprises with less than 250 persons engaged. The persons engaged breakdown provided in the figures are;

Less than 10: Micro Enterprises

10 – 49: Small Enterprises

50 – 249: Medium Enterprises

250+: Large Enterprises.

 

5 Enterprise Deaths: An enterprise death amounts to the dissolution of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other enterprises are involved in the event. Deaths do not include exits from the population due to mergers, takeovers, break-ups or restructuring of a set of enterprises. It does not include exits from a sub-population resulting only from a change of activity.

An enterprise is included in the count of deaths only if it is not reactivated within two years.

The population of enterprise deaths in 2011 contains all enterprises that ceased at some point during the year 2011.

 

6 Enterprise Births: An enterprise birth amounts to the creation of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other enterprises are involved in the event. Births do not include entries into the population due to mergers, break-ups, split-off or restructuring of a set of enterprises. It does not include entries into a sub-population resulting only from a change of activity.

A birth occurs when and enterprise starts from scratch and actually starts activity. An enterprise creation can be considered an enterprise birth if new production factors, in particular new jobs, is created. If a dormant unit is reactivated within two years, this event is not considered a birth.

The population of enterprise births in 2012 contains all enterprises that started at some stage during the year 2012.

 

7 Sectors refer to NACE Rev 2 sectors which are described in footnote 1. These NACE Rev2 Sectors provide a detailed breakdown of the sector analysis provided in footnote 3.

 

8 Population, births and survival data in this release relates to 2012, but the latest deaths data available is for 2011.

 

9 Business Demography figures at an EU level are available at the following link. Latest data available is for 2011.

 http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/european_business/special_sbs_topics/business_demography

 

10 NACE coded 64.20, Activities of holding companies is excluded from sector K

 

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