Back to Top

Central Statistics Office

 Skip navigation

Show Menu  
PDF - Summary (KB)
PDF - Full (KB)
Extra information
For more information on this release:
E-mail: business_stats@cso.ie Grace Tyrrell (+353) 21 453 5201 Stephanie Kelleher (+353) 21 453 5123 Sorcha O'Callaghan (+353) 21 453 5523
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2565-5337
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Structural Business Statistics

2018

Structural Business Statistics, 2016 - 2018
     Percentage change
  2016201720182017 - 20182016 - 2018
Enterprises No. 262,204283,244281,408-0.67.3
Persons Engaged No. 1,444,4251,522,1821,573,2713.48.9
Turnover €m644,975667,699734,32810.013.9
Gross Value Added€m190,934210,325235,37611.923.3
Structural Business Statistics includes all Industrial, Distribution and Services & Building and Construction enterprises in Ireland.

Turnover in the Structural Business Economy increased 10% to €734 billion in 2018

Figure 1: Turnover for Structural Business Statistics, 2016 - 2018
go to full release
  • Total turnover in the Structural Business Economy increased by 10.0% between 2017 and 2018, bringing the value to €734.3 billion in 2018.
  • Gross Value Added (GVA), which represents the value of goods and services produced in the economy, was €235.4 billion in 2018. This was an 11.9% annual increase and a 23.3% increase since 2016.
  • The number of persons engaged rose by 3.4% in 2018 to 1,573,271 persons.
  • Between 2016 and 2018, the number of persons engaged increased by 8.9%, an overall increase of 128,846 persons.
  • The number of enterprises in the Structural Business Economy decreased by 0.6% to 281,408 in 2018. See Headline Table and Figure 1.

This release provides details of individual surveys in the Structural Business Economy i.e. Census of Industrial Production, Annual Services Inquiry & Building and Construction Inquiry. It also analyses these sectors by size class of enterprise and nationality of ownership.

Industry

Table 1 Industrial sector key variables, 2016 - 2018
     Percentage change
  2016201720182017 - 2018
Industry (B-E)     
Enterprises No. 17,55518,81718,703-0.6
   of which; SMEs (<250)17,38018,63918,527-0.6
                   Large (250+)175178176-1.1
Persons Engaged No. 235,352242,966250,6353.2
   of which; SMEs (<250)121,921125,596128,7872.5
                   Large (250+)113,431117,370121,8483.8
Turnover €m227,154238,601268,28912.4
   of which; SMEs (<250) 41,57144,32847,0066.0
                   Large (250+) 185,583194,273221,28313.9
Gross Value Added€m93,264103,029110,4707.2
   of which; SMEs (<250)15,01715,04513,953-7.3
                   Large (250+) 78,24787,98496,5179.7
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have less than 250 persons engaged. Large enterprises have 250 or more persons engaged.
Totals may differ due to rounding.
Open in Excel: SBS2018ATBL1 (XLS 10KB)
upArrowHide Table

Persons engaged in Industrial sector increased 3.2% in 2018

  • The number of persons engaged in Industrial Production in Ireland in 2018 increased by 3.2% to 250,635.
  • Large industrial enterprises reported a 3.8% increase in persons engaged, a 13.9% increase in turnover and a 9.7% increase in Gross Value Added in 2018.
  • Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Industrial sector reported a 2.5% increase in persons engaged, a 6.0% increase in turnover and a 7.3% decrease in Gross Value Added in 2018.
  • Since 2008, the number of enterprises in the Industrial sector in Ireland has increased by over 2,700 enterprises, from 15,955 in 2008 to 18,703 in 2018. See Table 1*. 

*Please note that Statbank tables for Industry for 2018 are unavailable at present and will be published at a later date.

X-axis labelTurnoverGross Value Added
2016227.15493.264
2017238.601103.029
2018268.289110.47
  • Industrial Gross Value Added rose by 7.2% from €103.0 billion in 2017 to €110.5 billion in 2018.
  • Turnover in the Industrial sector increased by 12.4% to €268.3 billion in 2018. See Figure 2.
Large (250+ persons engaged)SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016113431121921
2017117370125596
2018121848128787
  • The number of persons engaged in Large Industrial enterprises increased at a slightly faster rate (3.8%) compared to SMEs (2.5%) in 2018.
  • The number of persons engaged in Industrial SMEs increased by 5.6% in the period 2016 to 2018.
  • For Large Industrial enterprises, the number of persons engaged increased by 7.4% over the same period.
  • Since 2008, the difference in persons engaged in Industrial SMEs compared to Large enterprises has narrowed from 39,894 (2008), to 18,385 (2013) and to 6,939 in 2018. See Figure 3.
X-axis labelLarge (250+ persons engaged)SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
201678.24715.017
201787.98415.045
201896.51713.953
  • GVA for Industrial SMEs decreased by 7.3% in 2018 to €14.0 billion.
  • Gross Value Added in Large Industrial enterprises rose by 9.7% from €88.0 billion in 2017 to €96.5 billion in 2018.
  • In 2018, the split for Industrial GVA between Large enterprises and SMEs was 87:13 in favour of Large enterprises. See Figure 4.

Distribution and Services

Table 2 Distribution sector and Services sector key variables, 2016 - 2018
     Percentage change
  2016201720182017 - 2018
Distribution (G)     
Enterprises No. 46,59548,59847,789-1.7
   of which; SMEs (<250)46,50148,49847,680-1.7
                   Large (250+)941001099.0
Persons Engaged No. 356,057367,405374,9682.1
   of which; SMEs (<250)257,718264,684267,1600.9
                   Large (250+)98,339102,721107,8085.0
Turnover €m183,434186,677182,394-2.3
   of which; SMEs (<250) 154,035158,820152,308-4.1
                   Large (250+) 29,39927,85730,0858.0
Gross Value Added€m22,22622,39423,4654.8
   of which; SMEs (<250)16,91917,15818,3326.8
                   Large (250+) 5,3075,2375,133-2.0
Services (H-N, R92,R93,S95,S96 excluding K)     
Enterprises No. 146,486158,574157,290-0.8
   of which; SMEs (<250)146,238158,311156,992-0.8
                   Large (250+)24826329813.3
Persons Engaged No. 732,675774,572803,1473.7
   of which; SMEs (<250)540,538569,159579,5761.8
                   Large (250+)192,137205,413223,5718.8
Turnover €m214,959217,552254,49217.0
   of which; SMEs (<250) 110,798109,517114,1414.2
                   Large (250+) 104,160108,036140,35129.9
Gross Value Added€m68,48475,60790,71820.0
   of which; SMEs (<250)41,41140,81246,40713.7
                   Large (250+) 27,07334,79544,31127.3
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have less than 250 persons engaged. Large enterprises have 250 or more persons engaged.
Totals may differ due to rounding.
Open in Excel: SBS2018ATBL2 (XLS 11KB)
upArrowHide Table

The number of enterprises in both Distribution and Services sectors decreased slightly in 2018

  • In 2018 the number of enterprises in the Distribution sector decreased by 1.7% and by 0.8% in the Services sector.
  • While there was a reduction in the number of enterprises in SMEs in 2018, the number of Large enterprises increased by 9.0% in the Distribution sector and by 13.3% in the Services sector.
  • As was the case in 2017, almost all (99.8%) of the enterprises in both sectors were SMEs with less than 250 persons engaged.
  • The number of persons engaged increased in both SMEs and in Large enterprises. The largest increase in both absolute numbers and in percentage terms was in Large enterprises in the Services sector (18,158 or 8.8%).
  • The average GVA per person engaged in the Distribution and Services sectors in 2018 increased to €96,900 from €85,800 in 2017.
  • The largest GVA per person engaged was in Services Large enterprises, amounting to €198,200, while the lowest was in the Distribution Large enterprises at €47,600 in 2018.
  • The average number of persons engaged per enterprise in 2018 in the Distribution sector was 8 and 5 in the Services sector. See Table 2 and Statbank Tables
X-axis labelTurnoverGross Value Added
2016183.43422.226
2017186.67722.394
2018182.39423.465
  • Turnover decreased by 2.3% in the Distribution sector in 2018 to €182.4 billion from €186.7 billion in 2017.
  • Gross Value Added increased by €1.1 billion in 2018 (4.8%). See Figure 5 and Statbank Table ANA13
Large (250+ persons engaged)SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
201698339257718
2017102721264684
2018107808267160
  • The number of persons engaged in the Distribution sector has increased by 2.1% in 2018 to 374,968 from 367,405 in 2017.
  • SMEs accounted for 71.2% of total persons engaged in the Distribution sector. See Figure 6 and Statbank table ANA09
X-axis labelLarge (250+ persons engaged)SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
20165.30716.919
20175.23717.158
20185.13318.332
  • In 2018 GVA in SMEs increased by 6.8% in the Distribution sector to €18.3 billion.
  • Large enterprises showed a decrease of 2.0% in GVA to €5.1 billion.
  • SMEs accounted for 78.1% of total GVA for the Distribution sector in 2018. See Figure 7 and Statbank Table ANA09
X-axis labelTurnoverGross Value Added
2016214.95968.484
2017217.55275.607
2018254.49290.718
  • Turnover in the Services sector increased by €36.9 billion (17.0%) in 2018.
  • GVA increased by 20.0% in 2018 to reach €90.7 billion. 
  • GVA for Large enterprises increased by 27.3% rising from €34.8 billion in 2017 to €44.3 billion in 2018. See Figure 8 and Statbank Table ANA13
Large (250+ persons engaged)SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016192137540538
2017205413569159
2018223571579576
  • The number of persons engaged in the Services sector increased by 28,575 (3.7%) in 2018.
  • Almost two thirds (63.5%) of the increase occurred in Large enterprises.
  • Nearly three quarters of persons engaged in the Services sector in 2018 were in SMEs (72.2%). See Figure 9 and Statbank Table ANA09.
X-axis labelLarge (250+ persons engaged)SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
201627.07341.411
201734.79540.812
201844.31146.407
  • Large enterprises in the Services sector increased their GVA in 2018 by 27.3%.
  • GVA in SMEs increased by €5.6 billion (13.7%).
  • Large enterprises, of which there were less than 300 in total, produced 48.8% of GVA in the Services sector. The remainder of GVA (51.2%) was generated by 157,000 SMEs in the Services sector. See Figure 10 and Statbank Table ANA09

Building and Construction

Table 3 Building and Construction sector key variables, 2016 - 2018
     Percentage change
  2016201720182017 - 2018
Building and Construction (F)     
Enterprises No. 51,56857,25557,6260.6
   of which; SMEs (<250) 51,55457,23857,6050.6
                   Large (250+) 14172123.5
Persons Engaged No. 120,341137,239144,5215.3
   of which; SMEs (<250) 113,558128,303133,9324.4
                   Large (250+) 6,7838,93610,58918.5
Turnover €m19,42824,86929,15317.2
   of which; SMEs (<250) 17,39522,49225,55813.6
                   Large (250+) 2,0332,3763,59551.3
Gross Value Added€m6,9609,29510,72315.4
   of which; SMEs (<250) 6,2968,4829,48011.8
                   Large (250+) 6648131,24352.9
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have less than 250 persons engaged. Large enterprises have 250 or more persons engaged.
Totals may differ due to rounding.
Open in Excel: SBS2018ATBL3 (XLS 10KB)
upArrowHide Table

Annual increase of 17.2% in turnover in Building and Construction

  • Construction turnover increased by 17.2% to €29.2 billion and Construction GVA increased by 15.4% to €10.7 billion in 2018.
  • Large Construction enterprises recorded a 51.3% increase in turnover, a 52.9% increase in GVA and an 18.5% increase in persons engaged in 2018.
  • In 2018 the number of Construction enterprises increased by 0.6% from 57,255 in 2017 to 57,626 in 2018.
  • The year on year change showed that the number of persons engaged in these enterprises in 2018 rose by 5.3% to 144,521. See Table 3 and Statbank Tables
X-axis labelTurnoverGross Value Added
201619.4286.96
201724.8699.295
201829.15310.723
  • In 2018 there was an annual increase in Construction turnover of 17.2% from €24.9 billion in 2017 to €29.2 billion in 2018.
  • The year on year change in GVA showed an increase of 15.4% up from €9.3 billion in 2017 to €10.7 billion in 2018. See Figure 11 and Statbank Table BAA12
X-axis labelLarge (250+ persons engaged)SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
20166783113558
20178936128303
201810589133932
  • Persons engaged in SMEs rose by 4.4% to 133,932 in 2018 from 128,303 in the previous year.
  • Persons engaged in Large enterprises increased by 18.5% from 8,936 in 2017 to 10,589 in 2018. See Figure 12 and Statbank Table BAA13
X-axis labelLarge (250+ persons engaged)SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
20160.6646.296
20170.8138.482
20181.2439.48
  • Gross Value Added for SMEs rose by 11.8% to €9.5 billion in 2018 from €8.5 billion in the previous year.
  • Large enterprises reported an increase in GVA, which rose by 52.9% from €813 million in 2017 to €1.2 billion in 2018. See Figure 13 and Statbank Table BAA13

Over 74% of persons engaged were employed in Irish owned enterprises

Table 4 Breakdown of persons engaged and Gross Value Added by sector, nationality of ownership and size class, 2018
 Persons engagedGross Value Added
 No.€m
Industry - Irish owned140,05912,805
   of which; SMEs (<250)99,0817,033
                   Large (250+)40,9785,772
Industry - Foreign owned110,57697,665
   of which; SMEs (<250)29,7066,920
                   Large (250+)80,87090,745
Industry- Total250,635110,470
   of which; SMEs (<250)128,78713,953
                   Large (250+)121,84896,517
Distribution - Irish owned268,52512,805
   of which; SMEs (<250)233,82311,108
                   Large (250+)34,7021,697
Distribution - Foreign owned106,44310,660
   of which; SMEs (<250)33,3377,224
                   Large (250+)73,1063,436
Distribution - Total374,96823,465
   of which; SMEs (<250)267,16018,332
                   Large (250+)107,8085,133
Services - Irish owned625,17243,721
   of which; SMEs (<250)516,44534,751
                   Large (250+)108,7278,970
Services - Foreign owned177,97546,997
   of which; SMEs (<250)63,13111,656
                   Large (250+)114,84435,341
Services - Total803,14790,718
   of which; SMEs (<250)579,57646,407
                   Large (250+)223,57144,311
Building and construction - Irish owned135,2339,671
   of which; SMEs (<250)130,7188,796
                   Large (250+)4,515875
Building and construction - Foreign owned9,2881,051
   of which; SMEs (<250)3,214683
                   Large (250+)6,074368
Building and construction - Total144,52110,723
   of which; SMEs (<250)133,9329,480
                   Large (250+)10,5891,243
All sectors - Irish owned1,168,98979,002
   of which; SMEs (<250)980,06761,688
                   Large (250+)188,92217,314
All sectors - Foreign owned404,282156,373
   of which; SMEs (<250)129,38826,483
                   Large (250+)274,894129,890
All sectors - Total1,573,271235,376
   of which; SMEs (<250)1,109,45588,172
                   Large (250+)463,816147,204
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have less than 250 persons engaged. Large enterprises have 250 or more persons engaged.
Totals may differ due to rounding.
Open in Excel: SBS2018ATBL4 (XLS 11KB)
upArrowHide Table
  • Irish owned SMEs accounted for 85.6% of persons engaged in the Distribution, Services and Building and Construction sectors.
  • Industry had the lowest proportion of persons engaged and GVA in Irish-Owned enterprises with 55.9% of persons engaged and 11.6% of GVA.
  • Foreign owned enterprises in the Services sector had 22.2% of persons engaged but produced 51.8% of Services GVA in 2018.
  • Of the four sectors, Building and Construction had the highest concentration of Irish-Owned enterprises with 93.6% of persons engaged and 90.2% of GVA. 
  • Foreign-owned Industrial enterprises accounted for 41.5% of the total GVA of the four sectors in 2018. See Table 4.
SMEs (<250 persons engaged)Large (250+ persons engaged)
Industry - Irish70.729.3
Industry - Foreign26.973.1
Distribution - Irish87.112.9
Distribution - Foreign31.368.7
Services- Irish82.617.4
Services - Foreign35.564.5
Building and Construction - Irish96.73.3
Building and Construction - Foreign34.665.4
All sectors - Irish83.816.2
All sectors - Foreign3268
  • More than two thirds (70.7%) of employment in Irish owned Industrial enterprises was in SMEs in 2018.
  • The reverse is true of foreign owned Industrial enterprises, where almost three quarters (73.1%) of all persons engaged were employed in Large enterprises.
  • More persons were engaged in Irish owned SMEs in the Distribution sector (233,823) than were engaged in Large enterprises (34,702).  Conversely 73,106 persons were engaged in Large Foreign owned enterprises in the Distribution sector compared with 33,337 in SMEs.
  • The proportion of persons engaged in Irish owned SMEs in the Services sector was 82.6% compared to 17.4% in Large enterprises. 
  • Employment in Irish owned Construction enterprises was concentrated in SMEs with these enterprises responsible for 96.7% of all persons engaged.
  • Almost two thirds, 65.4%, of employment in foreign owned Construction enterprises was in Large enterprises. See Figure 14.
SMEs (<250 persons engaged)Large (250+ persons engaged)
Industry - Irish54.945.1
Industry - Foreign7.192.9
Distribution - Irish86.713.3
Distribution - Foreign67.832.2
Services- Irish79.520.5
Services - Foreign24.875.2
Building and Construction - Irish919
Building and Construction - Foreign6535
All sectors - Irish78.121.9
All sectors - Foreign16.983.1

Among Irish owned Construction enterprises, SMEs accounted for 91.0% of GVA

  • Large Industrial enterprises generated 92.9% of GVA in foreign owned enterprises in 2018.
  • Irish owned Industrial enterprises were more evenly split, with 54.9% of GVA coming from SMEs and 45.1% generated by Large Industrial enterprises. 
  • In the Distribution sector both Irish and Foreign owned SMEs contribute more GVA than their equivalent Large enterprises. Irish owned SMEs have 86.7% of Irish owned GVA compared to Foreign owned SMEs having 67.8%. 
  • Out of every 10 euro GVA generated in 2018 in an Irish owned Service enterprise nearly 8 euro was in an SME (79.5%).  GVA in Foreign owned Service enterprises was dominated by Large enterprises (75.2%). 
  • Among Irish owned Construction enterprises, SMEs accounted for 91.0% of GVA, with Large enterprises accounting for 9.0%.
  • For foreign owned Construction enterprises, SMEs accounted for 65.0% of GVA, with Large enterprises accounting for 35.0%. See Figure 15.

Background Notes

The background notes and detailed methodology for the surveys used to compile the Structural Business Statistics release can be found as follows:

Census of Industrial Production Enterprises

Annual Services Inquiry

Building and Construction Inquiry

 

upArrowHide Background Notes

Scan the QR code below to view this release online or go to
http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/sbs/structuralbusinessstatistics2018/

Contact:

Central Statistics Office
Skehard Road, Cork T12 X00E, Ireland

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

Links:

Careers

You can count on a rewarding career with the CSO.

Learn about our variety of roles and the benefits of working with the CSO.

Follow: