This chapter outlines some of the main CSO statistics available on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are defined as enterprises with less than 250 persons employed. In this chapter, SMEs are further split into micro enterprises with fewer than 10 persons employed, other small enterprises with between 10 and 49 persons employed and medium sized enterprises with between 50 and 249 persons employed.
While this release provides data on NACE sectors B to S (excluding O and S94), this chapter excludes NACE sectors B, D, E and K. Accordingly, all the measures below relate to Manufacturing (C), Construction (F), Distribution (G), and Services H-S (excl. K, O, S94). Users should note that the results presented in this release include both market and non-market producing enterprises.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (<250 persons employed) accounted for 99.8% of all enterprises and 69.2% of persons employed in 2021. Two-fifths (41.5%) of total turnover and 34.8% of Gross Value Added (GVA) was attributed to these enterprises. In comparison, large enterprises (250+ persons employed) accounted for just 0.2% of all enterprises and 30.8% of persons employed but generated 58.5% of total turnover and 65.2% of total GVA in the business economy in 2021.
| X-axis label | Large (250+ persons employed) | SMEs (<250 persons employed) |
|---|---|---|
| Active enterprises | 0.2 | 99.8 |
| Persons employed | 30.8 | 69.2 |
| Turnover | 58.5 | 41.5 |
| GVA | 65.2 | 34.8 |
In 2021, micro enterprises (<10 persons employed) accounted for 92.6 of all enterprises, 27.6% of persons employed, 15.3% of turnover, and 16.2% of GVA. Small enterprises (10-49 persons employed) accounted for 6.1% of all enterprises, 22.0% of persons employed, 12.1% of turnover, and 7.5% of GVA. Medium (50-249 persons employed) enterprises accounted for 1.1% of all enterprises, 19.6% of persons employed, 14.1% of turnover, and 11.1%% of GVA.
| X-axis label | Micro (<10 persons employed) | Small (10-49 persons employed) | Medium (50-249 persons employed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active enterprises | 92.6 | 6.1 | 1.1 |
| Persons employed | 27.6 | 22 | 19.6 |
| Turnover | 15.3 | 12.1 | 14.1 |
| GVA | 16.2 | 7.5 | 11.1 |
The Construction sector had the largest share of its persons employed in SMEs in 2021, at 91.1%. Seven out of every ten persons employed in the Services sector (70.0%) and the Distribution sector (69.7%) were employed in SMEs. The Manufacturing sector reported almost an equal number of persons employed in large enterprises (50.4%) as in SMEs (49.6%).
| X-axis label | Large (250+ persons employed) | SMEs (<250 persons employed) |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 8.9 | 91.1 |
| Services | 30 | 70 |
| Distribution | 30.3 | 69.7 |
| Manufacturing | 50.4 | 49.6 |
SMEs in the Construction sector generated the largest percentage share of turnover (82.2%) followed by Distribution with 77.3%. Large enterprises generated 84.9% of Manufacturing turnover output, while in the Services sector large enterprises produced 55.6% of total turnover.
| X-axis label | Large (250+ persons employed) | SMEs (<250 persons employed) |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 17.8 | 82.2 |
| Distribution | 22.7 | 77.3 |
| Services | 55.6 | 44.4 |
| Manufacturing | 84.9 | 15.1 |
In the Construction sector, 91.7% of total GVA was produced by SMEs in 2021. Just 10.9% of GVA in the Manufacturing sector was produced by SMEs, while 70.4% and 50.0% of all GVA in the Distribution and Services sectors respectively was produced by SMEs.
| X-axis label | Large (250+ persons employed) | SMEs (<250 persons employed) |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 8.3 | 91.7 |
| Distribution | 29.6 | 70.4 |
| Services | 50 | 50 |
| Manufacturing | 89.1 | 10.9 |
The Services sector accounted for 60.9% of all SMEs in the Irish business economy. The Construction sector was the second largest contributor to the number of Irish SMEs, at 20.2% of the total. The Manufacturing sector accounted for just 5.2% of all SMEs.
The Services sector accounted for the largest proportion of persons employed in SMEs in 2021 (58.4%) and contributed to 44.2% of the turnover in this size class. The lowest proportion of persons employed was in the Manufacturing sector with 9.3% of persons employed while it accounted for 13.1% of turnover in the SMEs size class. Having accounted for 19.3% of all active SMEs, the Construction sector accounted for just 11.9% of persons employed in SMEs and 7.1% of turnover. The Distribution sector accounted for 13.8% of all active SMEs, 20.4% of persons employed and 35.7% of turnover in the SMEs sector in 2021.
Enterprises in the Services sector accounted for 61.5% of all SMEs' GVA. The Distribution and Manufacturing sectors accounted for 17.0% and 14.4% of all SMEs' GVA respectively. SMEs in the Construction sector recorded the lowest proportion of all SMEs' GVA at 7.1%.
| X-axis label | Manufacturing | Construction | Distribution | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active enterprises | 5.2 | 20.2 | 13.8 | 60.9 |
| Persons employed | 9.3 | 11.9 | 20.4 | 58.4 |
| Turnover | 13.1 | 7.1 | 35.7 | 44.2 |
| GVA | 14.4 | 7.1 | 17 | 61.5 |
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