Under the new European Business Statistics (EBS) Regulation 2019/2152, the Sectors covered in Structural Business Statistics and Business Demography are now common as part of an EU-wide initiative to improve data processing and enhance coherency across a range of enterprise statistical products. To facilitate comparability with previous years, however, this release (2021) provides data on NACE sectors B to N (excluding K), R92, R93, S95, and S96. Users should note that the results presented in this release include both market and non-market producing enterprises.
The 2021 Business Demography release includes the full population of NACE sectors set out in the Regulation. While the common sectors presented in both Business in Ireland and Business Demography are generally coherent, there may be slight differences in reported enterprises and persons employed. This is primarily due to the application of differing data processing and frame management, including legal form status, which has resulted in those slight differences.
Further releases under the ‘Business in Ireland’ title are planned which will include the full EBS NACE population as well as providing additional data and insights into the composition and constitution of enterprises across the economy.
| Table 1.1 Structural Business Statistics key variables, 2019 - 2021 | |||||
| Percentage change | |||||
| 20191 | 2020 | 2021 | 2020 - 2021 | ||
| Enterprises | No. | 285,466 | 291,489 | 309,679 | 6.2% |
| Persons Employed | No. | 1,713,257 | 1,598,643 | 1,663,586 | 4.1% |
| Turnover | €m | 807,582 | 815,988 | 1,013,849 | 24.2% |
| Gross Value Added | €m | 250,387 | 275,767 | 326,005 | 18.2% |
| Source: CSO Structural Business Surveys | |||||
| 1Break in series for Turnover and Gross Value Added in the Construction sector from 2019 due to new methodology. | |||||
There was an increase of 6.2% (18,190) in the number of active Enterprises in 2021 compared to 2020, while the number of Persons Employed increased by 4.1% for the same period.
Total Turnover in the Structural Business Economy increased by 24.2% to €1,013.8 billion between 2020 and 2021. Gross Value Added (GVA), when measured at factor cost, and represents the value of goods and services produced in the economy, was €326.0 billion in 2021, an annual increase of 18.2%.
| X-axis label | Turnover | Gross Value Added |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 807.582 | 250.387 |
| 2020 | 815.988 | 275.767 |
| 2021 | 1013.849 | 326.004 |
The number of enterprises in the Structural Business Economy increased by 6.2% to 309,679 in 2021, compared with 291,489 enterprises in 2020. The number of persons employed rose by 4.1% in 2021 to 1,663,586, an increase of 64,943 when compared with 2020 levels.
| Active Enterprises | Persons Employed | |
| 2019 | 285466 | 1713257 |
| 2020 | 291489 | 1598643 |
| 2021 | 309679 | 1663586 |
| Table 1.2 Structural Business Statistics key variables by sector, 2019 - 20211 | |||||
| Percentage change | |||||
| 20192 | 2020 | 2021 | 2020 - 2021 | ||
| Enterprises | No. | 285,466 | 291,489 | 309,679 | 6.2% |
| of which: Industry (B-E) | No. | 18,599 | 19,171 | 20,595 | 7.4% |
| Construction (F) | No. | 59,175 | 62,664 | 70,459 | 12.4% |
| Distribution (G) | No. | 46,786 | 46,792 | 48,394 | 3.4% |
| Services (H-N excl. K) and R92, R93, S95, S96. | No. | 160,906 | 162,862 | 170,231 | 4.5% |
| Persons Employed | No. | 1,713,257 | 1,598,643 | 1,663,586 | 4.1% |
| of which: Industry (B-E) | No. | 264,398 | 260,660 | 271,263 | 4.1% |
| Construction (F) | No. | 158,227 | 157,349 | 170,446 | 8.3% |
| Distribution (G) | No. | 390,546 | 372,853 | 383,020 | 2.7% |
| Services (H-N excl. K) and R92, R93, S95, S96. | No. | 900,086 | 807,781 | 838,857 | 3.8% |
| Turnover | €m | 807,582 | 815,988 | 1,013,849 | 24.2% |
| of which: Industry (B-E) | €m | 287,682 | 299,249 | 380,843 | 27.3% |
| Construction (F) | €m | 28,059 | 29,196 | 36,221 | 24.1% |
| Distribution (G) | €m | 192,617 | 183,495 | 193,935 | 5.7% |
| Services (H-N excl. K) and R92, R93, S95, S96. | €m | 299,224 | 304,048 | 402,850 | 32.5% |
| Gross Value Added | €m | 250,387 | 275,767 | 326,005 | 18.2% |
| of which: Industry (B-E) | €m | 114,646 | 128,416 | 157,588 | 22.7% |
| Construction (F) | €m | 8,650 | 8,030 | 8,853 | 10.2% |
| Distribution (G) | €m | 25,884 | 27,085 | 27,740 | 2.4% |
| Services (H-N excl. K) and R92, R93, S95, S96. | €m | 101,207 | 112,236 | 131,823 | 17.5% |
| Source: CSO Structural Business Surveys | |||||
| 1Totals may differ due to rounding. | |||||
| 2Break in series for Turnover and Gross Value Added in the Construction sector from 2019 due to new methodology. | |||||
The Industrial sector had 20,595 enterprises (6.7% of all enterprises) and 271,263 persons employed (16.3%) in the Structural Business Economy in 2021. However, this sector accounted for the largest share of total GVA (48.3%) and the second largest share of total Turnover at 37.6%.
The Services sector had the largest number of enterprises at 170,231 (55.0%) and persons employed at 838,857 (50.4%) in the Structural Business Economy in 2021. This sector also accounted for the largest share of total Turnover (39.7%) and for 40.4% of total GVA.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Turnover |
|---|---|
| Construction | 3.6 |
| Industry | 37.6 |
| Distribution | 19.1 |
| Services | 39.7 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | GVA |
|---|---|
| Construction | 2.7 |
| Industry | 48.3 |
| Distribution | 8.5 |
| Services | 40.4 |
The Distribution sector, which includes the motor, wholesale and retail trade sectors, had 48,394 enterprises (15.6% of total enterprises) and 383,020 persons employed (23.0%) in the Structural Business Economy in 2020. This sector accounted for 19.1% of total Turnover and 8.5% of total GVA.
The Construction sector accounted for more than one-fifth (22.8%) of enterprises and more than one-tenth (10.2%) of persons employed in the Structural Business Economy in 2020. However, this sector had the lowest share of both Turnover (3.6%) and GVA (2.7%).
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Enterprises |
|---|---|
| Construction | 22.8 |
| Industry | 6.7 |
| Distribution | 15.6 |
| Services | 55 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Persons Employed |
|---|---|
| Construction | 10.2 |
| Industry | 16.3 |
| Distribution | 23 |
| Services | 50.4 |
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.