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E-mail: labour@cso.ie Martina O'Callaghan +353 21 453 5491 Catalina Gonzalez +353 21 453 5163
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CSO statistical release, , 11am

Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity

2018

Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 & overNumber with no employment activity 2013-2018Employment activity by year
201320142015201620172018
201375,72032,98828,88531,54525,49122,66520,72619,541
201485,66835,634 35,16637,91130,69826,83024,696
201582,74429,375  41,84841,60733,07729,344
201694,95530,458   51,91051,39642,090
2017102,82434,097    57,46157,399
2018109,30344,317     64,930

25.8% of foreign nationals assigned PPSNs in 2013 had employment activity in Ireland in 2018

Figure 1 Foreign Nationals: Employment Activity of PPSN Allocations 2013
go to full release

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.

Activity rate in the year of allocation is 63.9% in 2018

Employment and social welfare activity rates in 2018 for foreign nationals who were issued PPSNs in any year since 2013, increased from a low of 33.4% for 2013 allocations, where 25,301 of the 75,720 allocations had employment or interacted with the social welfare system in the year to 61.5% in 2017 and 63.9% in 2018.

When considering PPSNs issued in 2018 by nationality grouping, foreign nationals from the EU15 to EU25 states had the highest activity rate in 2018, with 73.5% (9,114) of allocations recording employment or engagement with the social welfare system in the year. This was followed by 70.0% for nationals from the EU15, excluding Ireland and the UK, and nationals from the EU25 to EU28 (17,178 and 12,267 respectively).  See table 1.

Employment activity rate in year of allocation shows a 3.5 percentage point increase in 2018

The employment activity rate in year of allocation has increased by 3.5 percentage points from 55.9% in 2017 to 59.4% in 2018.  Employment activity for PPSN allocations to foreign nationals in the year of arrival increased from 57,461 in 2017 to 64,930 in 2018.

The nationality group with the highest employment activity rate in the year of allocation is the EU15 to EU25 states in 2018 at 69.8%. The Rest of the World had the largest annual increase in the employment activity rate in the year of allocation, increasing by 5.6 percentage points from 52.7% for 2017 allocations to 58.3% for 2018 allocations.            See table 2. 

Social Welfare activity rate in year of allocation decreased to 6.8% in 2018

In 2018 the social welfare activity rate in the year of allocation was 6.8%, representing a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the 2017 rate of 8.1%. The social welfare activity rate in the year of allocation in 2013 was 8.3%. In 2018, 11,665 (15.4%) of the 75,720 PPSN allocations from 2013 recorded social welfare activity. The comparable figure for 2013 allocations in 2017 was marginally less at 15.3% (11,601). 

Across the nationality groups the largest percentage of 2013 allocations to have social welfare activity in 2018 was the EU15 to EU25 states with 3,636 (24.3%), of the 14,947 allocations to those countries in 2013 recording social welfare activity in 2018. This is followed by the EU25 to EU28 states which have a social welfare activity rate of 24.0% in 2018 for 2013 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
201385021
201496080
201594650
2016107730
2017116303
2018123135

PPSN allocations to foreign nationals increased by 5.9% in 2018

Overall, PPSN allocations to foreign nationals across all age groups were 123,135 in 2018. This is an increase of 6,832 (+5.9%) when compared with allocations in 2017.  See table 5 and graph above.

 Other main points which can be noted include:

  • A total of 491,639 foreign nationals who were assigned PPSNs during the period 2002-2018 recorded some employment during 2018. The largest numbers were employed in the Accommodation and food service activities (82,635). Five NACE economic sectors (Accommodation and food service activities, Administrative and support service activities, Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, Manufacturing and Information and communication accounted for 62.9% (309,028) of all foreign national employment activity in 2018.  See table 4.
  • In 2018, the United Kingdom had the highest number of PPSN allocations (15,095), Romania recorded the second highest number of allocations (13,921) while Brazil ranked third highest with 12,268 PPSN allocations.
  • United Kingdom and Romania have had the two highest number of PPSN allocation by country since 2015.
  • Nigeria and South Africa recorded the largest annual increases between 2017 and 2018 in the number of PPSN allocations with increases of 34.3% (281) and 28.9% (280) respectively.  See table 7.
  • Of the top 25 PPSN allocations by nationality in 2018, India, France, Germany, Bulgaria and South Africa have recorded year on year increases in all years since 2014.  See table 7.
Table 1 Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment and Social Welfare activity by broad nationality group, year of PPSN allocation and year of activity
Numbers
 Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 years and overNumber with no activity 2013–2018Activity1 by year
Broad nationality group 201320142015201620172018
United Kingdom201311,1876,1823,5573,5482,9172,7442,6332,623
 201411,9746,593753,7453,7933,3283,0732,972
 201513,9467,8609444,4674,7093,8643,615
 201613,7677,8722129754,6534,7534,116
 201713,2287,786161722594,4894,668
 201812,9348,21213161723744,722
 
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK201316,9565,3559,1418,7776,7625,7935,0474,546
 201418,9525,6112210,51910,3668,1336,8805,996
 201517,7703,888*3111,71011,0978,5387,158
 201621,4234,299575414,44113,73710,606
 201723,7945,282***2716,16915,150
 201824,5377,353*3*56417,178
 
EU15 to EU25 states201314,9473,6958,6078,4077,2186,8806,5316,289
 201414,0862,965559,0408,4637,2646,6536,312
 201513,2751,9058609,8058,9287,4386,799
 201613,4762,009*57410,0298,9917,529
 201712,9292,408-*3559,3628,340
 201812,4003,289---*609,114
 
EU25 to EU28 states20138,1302,2063,7984,6474,3324,2524,2004,129
 201410,8412,442115,9016,7866,1905,9295,817
 201512,4561,654-68,7849,0898,0837,738
 201615,7382,344**3611,00911,35010,102
 201716,3433,172--*3511,38611,376
 201817,5145,250---*5612,267
 
USA20132,4961,437674796619542491468
 20142,7521,5158830933731613562
 20152,7521,524-11906972773679
 20163,2381,693**181,1191,267999
 20173,6672,032--*111,3151,341
 20183,4552,09733*3161,357
 
Rest of the world201322,0048,8977,4239,8068,3747,7937,3617,246
 201427,06310,6037410,11712,75410,9069,7999,368
 201522,5455,644*5812,49013,42610,8799,979
 201627,3135,8304816116,49617,77115,241
 201732,8637,2613587920,22122,401
 201838,46313,226--3711125,199
 
Total foreign nationals201375,72027,77233,20035,98130,22228,00426,26325,301
 201485,66829,72924540,15243,09536,55232,94731,027
 201582,74422,4752021048,16248,22139,57535,968
 201694,95524,047335141857,74757,86948,593
 2017102,82427,94120243626662,94263,276
 2018109,30339,4271722244038169,837
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, year of PPSN allocation and year of activity
Numbers
 Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 years and overNumber with no employment activity 2013–2018Employment activity by year
Broad nationality group 201320142015201620172018
United Kingdom201311,1877,3642,7022,7612,1071,8011,6821,635
 201411,9747,878142,8802,9092,2131,9731,858
 201513,9469,068-103,5653,6382,7442,465
 201613,7678,912--153,7743,8113,162
 201713,2288,647---53,7933,916
 201812,9348,768----234,163
 
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK201316,9566,1728,3358,2846,2935,2524,4673,914
 201418,9526,402109,7419,8697,5896,2865,329
 201517,7704,542-1611,07710,5658,0036,591
 201621,4234,922-*3913,77713,22910,089
 201723,7945,861---1815,60014,685
 201824,5377,814----5016,718
 
EU15 to EU25 states201314,9474,5417,8377,5186,1325,6325,1414,814
 201414,0863,813158,2757,5886,1765,4214,965
 201513,2752,646-109,0808,0556,3975,621
 201613,4762,688--319,3478,1966,604
 201712,9293,031---168,7827,680
 201812,4003,742----218,657
 
EU25 to EU28 states20138,1302,6643,4454,1963,8173,6253,5263,394
 201410,8412,98585,4546,2445,5085,1614,965
 201512,4562,165-58,3048,4937,3706,902
 201615,7383,005--3210,34510,5839,174
 201716,3433,803---2710,79410,681
 201817,5145,791----4611,721
 
USA20132,4961,626582664481364300272
 20142,7521,7213732788547424362
 20152,7521,720-5763786577480
 20163,2381,903--99731,068795
 20173,6672,209---51,1881,174
 20183,4552,196----71,258
 
Rest of the world201322,00410,6215,9848,1226,6615,9915,6105,512
 201427,06312,835138,08410,5138,6657,5657,217
 201522,5459,234-69,05910,0707,9867,285
 201627,3139,028--7513,69414,50912,266
 201732,86310,546---2417,30419,263
 201838,46316,006----4322,413
 
Total foreign nationals201375,72032,98828,88531,54525,49122,66520,72619,541
 201485,66835,6346335,16637,91130,69826,83024,696
 201582,74429,375-5241,84841,60733,07729,344
 201694,95530,458-*20151,91051,39642,090
 2017102,82434,097---9557,46157,399
 2018109,30344,317----19064,930
* Confidential
– No Data
Table 3 Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Social Welfare activity by broad nationality group, year of PPSN allocation and year of activity
Numbers
 Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 years and overNumber with no S/W activity 2013–2018Social Welfare activity by year
Broad nationality group 201320142015201620172018
United Kingdom201311,1878,7441,1171,2211,2311,4191,4301,464
 201411,9749,424621,1651,3621,6081,6171,619
 201513,94611,4309351,2381,7031,8061,796
 201613,76711,5972129601,2401,6081,614
 201713,22811,699161722549821,278
 201812,93412,1201316172351812
 
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK201316,95613,7581,1961,2171,2061,3161,4521,405
 201418,95215,799121,2411,2791,3921,6071,500
 201517,77015,188*151,0281,3171,4481,474
 201621,42318,92856151,1711,5591,509
 201723,79421,911***91,1461,412
 201824,53723,582*3*514954
 
EU15 to EU25 states201314,9479,5721,6462,7153,1253,5783,6633,636
 201414,0869,323401,6742,6793,0263,3223,408
 201513,2759,0308501,7522,7103,0723,220
 201613,47610,145*5431,4572,4912,686
 201712,92910,776-*3391,2881,972
 201812,40011,382---*391,022
 
EU25 to EU28 states20138,1305,2846111,2731,5091,7941,9401,952
 201410,8417,37538501,6722,1102,4582,518
 201512,4568,791-*1,0912,1922,6732,887
 201615,73812,085**41,4792,7003,087
 201716,34313,670--*81,4412,507
 201817,51416,201---*101,318
 
USA20132,4962,158112180193234242252
 20142,7522,4135112181234260266
 20152,7522,420-7163248269266
 20163,2382,912**9170260282
 20173,6673,409--*6156239
 20183,4553,33033*39124
 
Rest of the world201322,00417,9621,5752,1332,4112,6622,8742,956
 201427,06322,143622,2232,8883,2313,5443,698
 201522,54516,573*523,6424,0733,9944,106
 201627,31321,79848863,0864,3794,768
 201732,86327,818358553,2974,721
 201838,46335,191--37683,234
 
Total foreign nationals201375,72057,4786,2578,7399,67511,00311,60111,665
 201485,66866,4771847,26510,06111,60112,80813,009
 201582,74463,432201608,91412,24313,26213,749
 201694,95577,46533502178,60312,99713,946
 2017102,82489,2832024361718,31012,129
 2018109,303101,806172224401917,464
* Confidential
– No Data
Table 4 Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment activity by economic sector and broad nationality group, 20181
Numbers
  Broad nationality group 
Economic Sector (NACE Rev.2)United KingdomEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU28 statesUSARest of the worldTotal foreign nationals
AAgriculture, forestry and fishing3763624,3641,919175757,613
BMining and quarrying481726019*50395
CManufacturing3,5126,33430,7326,3014476,20753,533
DElectricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply17911781307147561
EWater supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities136601,65671881432,721
FConstruction1,7959578,3716,045851,75219,005
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles6,5156,13334,0397,65367813,46068,478
HTransportation and storage1,5756,3778,8202,214491,26720,302
IAccommodation and food service activities 4,20210,35728,27112,21569026,90082,635
JInformation and communication3,44813,8414,7861,8791,02310,87135,848
KFinancial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies3,0364,9553,2947895573,41416,045
LReal estate activities3903901,768749581,3654,720
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities3,4786,3955,5212,1937006,85025,137
NAdministrative and support service activities3,60812,41822,22612,06770817,50768,534
OPublic administration and defence; compulsory social security2,1559231,2863491884,1739,074
PEducation2,4693,5242,0694787523,92113,213
QHuman health and social work actvities3,9473,9178,7072,64140014,11233,724
RArts, entertainment and recreation9865831,3744881451,0264,602
SOther service activities7395313,9751,987922,3499,673
TActivities of households as employers22376718-97241
UActivities of extra territorial organisations and bodies49134-1545
Unknown 1,9262,0995,3751,7092954,13615,540
Total44,54680,336177,05562,4656,900120,337491,639
1 This table relates to those foreign nationals assigned PPSNs during the period 2002 to 2018 inclusive and employed during 2018.
* Confidential
– No Data
Table 5 Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by age group, broad nationality group and year of PPSN allocation
Numbers
Year PPSN allocatedAge at allocationUKEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU28 statesUSARest of worldTotal foreign nationals1
20130-141,9691,3772,4209495332,0539,301
 15-241,5926,1606,2042,4504218,37925,206
 25-443,9519,3757,0444,95190512,17238,398
 45-644,1391,1531,5476837901,0939,405
 65+1,505268152463803602,711
 Total13,15618,33317,3679,0793,02924,05785,021
 
20140-141,8381,5262,6071,3466342,46110,412
 15-241,7557,2655,7183,1925249,44127,895
 25-444,30810,2226,7916,57698815,67944,564
 45-644,3461,2061,4111,0058231,37110,162
 65+1,565259166684175723,047
 Total13,81220,47816,69312,1873,38629,52496,080
 
20150-142,1751,5202,4701,6295633,54911,906
 15-241,8386,5605,2463,4114806,52424,059
 25-445,6449,6966,5657,94996514,22245,041
 45-644,8451,2311,3251,0199021,26910,591
 65+1,619283139774055303,053
 Total16,12119,29015,74514,0853,31526,09494,650
 
20160-142,1381,7832,2052,0846193,94612,775
 15-241,8138,2325,0774,4686436,82027,053
 25-445,39611,4776,7419,6511,24218,43452,941
 45-644,8741,4411,4741,5469311,48511,751
 65+1,684273184734225743,210
 Total15,90523,20615,68117,8223,85731,259107,730
 
20170-142,1041,7791,9462,3397144,59713,479
 15-241,9189,3964,9264,7297758,56930,313
 25-444,53512,2526,2239,7261,33522,17156,242
 45-644,7301,7871,5791,8031,0301,66212,591
 65+2,045359201855274613,678
 Total15,33225,57314,87518,6824,38137,460116,303
 
20180-142,1611,8231,9532,6736654,55713,832
 15-242,1549,6184,7285,21774710,62633,090
 25-444,76012,7645,8209,9481,35125,60360,246
 45-644,3621,8211,6052,2319271,82412,770
 65+1,6583342471184304103,197
 Total15,09526,36014,35320,1874,12043,020123,135
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.
Table 6 Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by sex, broad nationality group and year of PPSN allocation
Numbers
Year PPSN allocatedSexUKEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU28 statesUSARest of worldTotal foreign nationals1
2013Male 7,3369,7008,3815,1381,40012,44644,401
 Female5,8208,6338,9863,9411,62911,61140,620
 Total13,15618,33317,3679,0793,02924,05785,021
 
2014Male 7,72210,6398,5517,1021,53515,35650,905
 Female6,0909,8398,1425,0851,85114,16845,175
 Total13,81220,47816,69312,1873,38629,52496,080
 
2015Male 9,29110,1798,0748,5221,52014,13651,722
 Female6,8309,1117,6715,5631,79511,95842,928
 Total16,12119,29015,74514,0853,31526,09494,650
 
2016Male 9,06912,2178,56510,9471,76116,02858,587
Female6,83610,9897,1166,8752,09615,23149,143
Total15,90523,20615,68117,8223,85731,259107,730
 
2017Male 8,74813,4668,19511,5111,92018,39162,231
Female6,58412,1076,6807,1712,46119,06954,072
Total15,33225,57314,87518,6824,38137,460116,303
 
2018Male 8,65213,7217,92312,5471,76421,68266,289
 Female6,44312,6396,4307,6402,35621,33856,846
 Total15,09526,36014,35320,1874,12043,020123,135
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.
Table 7 Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by nationality1
Numbers
Nationality201320142015201620172018
UK13,15613,81216,12115,90515,33215,095
Romania7,7139,0818,64411,20712,08413,921
Brazil6,1617,6494,9767,20910,30412,268
India2,6073,0523,1284,9605,7827,321
Spain5,0115,1964,3565,4386,3396,685
Poland9,2399,1168,5858,0156,8166,521
Italy3,6464,3704,2055,5946,0526,093
France3,1763,7423,7434,3804,8574,877
Croatia4882,2234,3425,3154,9084,346
USA3,0293,3863,3153,8574,3814,120
Lithuania2,5182,3152,3372,8383,1192,916
Germany2,1642,4082,4582,4862,6482,715
Portugal1,5971,9641,6282,1482,2212,354
China1,1061,4301,1481,4991,8502,029
Bulgaria8788831,0991,3001,6901,920
Latvia1,5691,3111,1701,3151,4001,510
Mexico5447734506401,1241,413
South Africa3464454818059691,249
Pakistan8811,6113,1642,2161,6451,218
Hungary1,8821,7261,6151,4351,3681,212
Australia6408801,0341,1511,2101,166
Nigeria5346466137678201,101
Canada7448398851,0369661,098
Philippines4134084269191,1611,080
Slovakia1,0961,0869589961,0671,076
All Other Countries13,88315,72813,76914,29916,19017,831
Total85,02196,08094,650107,730116,303123,135
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages and is sorted in descending order of allocations in 2018.

Background Notes

Data sources

This analysis is based on three data sources:

  • The Central Records System of the Department of Employment Affairs and 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 onwards, if they had no P35 self-employed income and if they had no other work as an employee.

Additional data analysis for Social Welfare activity and Employment activity are updated from 2013 and are available through the CSO Statbank here.

 

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 Employment Affairs and 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 Employment Affairs and 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 Employment Affairs and 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 CSO Data Protocol).

 

 

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