Editor's Note:

• Profile 11 – Employment, Occupations and Industry is the 13th and final report from Census 2016 (11 profile reports and two summary reports). All of the reports are available at www.cso.ie/en/census/. The reports include a range of interactive web tables, which allow users to build their own tables by selecting the data they are interested in and downloading them in an easy to use format for their own analysis.  

• In co-operation with the All Ireland Research Observatory (AIRO) at NUI Maynooth, summary census data is available in thematic maps for Electoral Districts and all Small Areas on the AIRO website. This can be accessed via the link on the CSO website.

• The CSO and Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) have also launched a new Open Data website which makes the Census 2016 Small Area Population Statistics (SAPS) available as geographical Open Data for the first time. Census 2016 results across 15 themes, including sex, age and marital status; families; the Irish language, and, education can be visualised in map form across 31 Administrative Counties, 95 Municipal Districts, 3,409 Electoral Divisions and 18,641 Small Areas. The new website is part of OSi’s GeoHive platform (http://www.geohive.ie) and is available at http://census2016.geohive.ie/

• The results of the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) provide the basis for the official series of quarterly labour force estimates. The labour force and its constituent figures shown in this report are directly based on the census. Users should be aware that information derived from identical questions in the census and QNHS for the same year may show appreciable differences. The main categories affected are the constituents of the question on principal economic status and the employment estimates classified by industry and occupation. For further information, see Appendix 2 of the report. 

• The labour force comprises persons aged 15 and over who are employed, looking for a first job, or unemployed. The percentage of people aged 15 and over who participate in the labour force - as opposed to having another status such as student, retired or homemaker - is known as the labour force participation rate. It is measured as the number in the labour force (at work or unemployed) expressed as a percentage of the total population aged 15 and over. 

• The term industry used for Census of Population purposes is not confined to manufacturing industry. It is synonymous with the term “sector of economic activity”. The basis of the industrial classification is, in the case of employees, the business or profession of their employer and in the case of self-employed persons, the nature of their own business or profession. In Census 2016; industry is coded using NACE – the General Industrial Classification of Economic Activities within the European Communities. For further information, see Appendix 2 of the report.

• The entire population was classified to one of ten specific socio-economic groups (introduced in 1996). In addition, a residual group entitled. “All others gainfully occupied and unknown” was used where sufficient details were not provided. The classification aims to bring together persons with similar social and economic statuses on the basis of the level of skill or educational attainment required. In defining socio-economic group no attempt is made to rank groups in order of socio-economic importance. For further information, see Appendix 2 of the report

• The entire population is also classified into one of seven social class groups (introduced in 1996) which are defined on the basis of occupation. The occupations included in each of these groups have been selected in such a way as to bring together, as far as possible, people with similar levels of occupational skill. In determining social class no account is taken of the differences between individuals on the basis of other characteristics such as education. Accordingly social class ranks occupations by the level of skill required on a social class scale ranging from 1 (highest) to 7 (lowest). For further information, see Appendix 2 of the report.

• The census figures relate to the de facto population, i.e. the population recorded for each area represents the total of all persons present within its boundaries on the night of Sunday, 24 April 2016, together with all persons who arrived in that area on the morning of Monday, 25 April 2016, not having been enumerated elsewhere. Persons on board ships in port are included with the population of adjacent areas. The figures, therefore, include visitors present on Census Night as well as those in residence, while usual residents temporarily absent from the area are excluded.

• The de facto measure of the population in April 2016 was 4,761,865 while the usually resident total was 4,689,921 - a difference of 71,944 or 1.5%. The usually resident measure is used when analysing topics such as commuting patterns, nationality and households and families.