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Structural Business Statistics 2020

Distribution and Services

GVA increased by 4.6% in Distribution and by 10.9% in Services in 2020

Online ISSN: 2565-5337

CSO statistical release, 23 September 2022, 11am

Distribution

Persons engaged in the Distribution sector decreased by 4.5% to 372,853 in 2020.
There were 46,792 enterprises in 2020, of which, 46,682 were SMEs (<250 persons engaged) and 110 were Large enterprises (250+ persons engaged).
Similar to previous years, SMEs accounted for almost all enterprises (99.8%) in Distribution.
GVA increased by 4.6% in the Distribution sector in 2020.
The average GVA per person engaged increased from €66,300 in 2019 to €72,600 in 2020. See Table 3.1 and PxStat Tables.

Table 3.1 Distribution sector key variables, 2018 - 2020¹
					Percentage change
		2018	2019	2020	2019 - 2020
Distribution (G)
Enterprises	No.	47,789	46,786	46,792	0.0%
of which: SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	No.	47,680	46,671	46,682	0.0%
Large (250+ persons engaged)	No.	109	115	110	-4.3%
Persons Engaged	No.	374,968	390,546	372,853	-4.5%
of which: SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	No.	267,160	277,482	259,148	-6.6%
Large (250+ persons engaged)	No.	107,808	113,064	113,705	0.6%
Turnover	€m	182,394	192,617	183,495	-4.7%
of which: SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	€m	152,308	147,389	138,870	-5.8%
Large (250+ persons engaged)	€m	30,085	45,228	44,625	-1.3%
Gross Value Added	€m	23,465	25,884	27,085	4.6%
of which: SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	€m	18,332	17,964	18,230	1.5%
Large (250+ persons engaged)	€m	5,133	7,920	8,854	11.8%
¹Totals may differ due to rounding.

Open in Excel: Structural Business Statistics 2020 Table 3.1 (XLS 11KB)

X-axis label	Turnover	Gross Value Added
2018	182.394	23.465
2019	192.617	25.884
2020	183.495	27.085

In 2020, Turnover in the Distribution sector decreased by 4.7% to €183.5 billion, while GVA increased by €1.2 billion or 4.6%.

	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	Large (250+ persons engaged)
2018	267160	107808
2019	277482	113064
2020	259148	113705

There was an annual decrease of 17,693 persons engaged in Distribution in 2020. Persons engaged in Large enterprises increased by 641 (0.6%) while persons engaged in SMEs decreased by 18,334 (6.6%). SMEs accounted for 69.5% of persons engaged in Distribution in 2020.

X-axis label	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	Large (250+ persons engaged)
2018	18.332	5.133
2019	17.964	7.92
2020	18.23	8.854

Gross Value Added in Distribution increased by 4.6% to €27.1 billion between 2019 and 2020. GVA for Large enterprises increased by 11.8% to €8.9 billion. SMEs accounted for 67.3% of the total GVA for the Distribution sector in 2020.

Services

The number of enterprises in the Services sector increased by 1.2% to 162,862 in 2020.
The number of SMEs (<250 persons engaged) increased by 1.3%, while Large enterprises (250+ persons engaged) decreased by 16.1%.
In 2020, similar to the Distribution sector, 99.8% of Services enterprises were SMEs.
The average GVA per person engaged increased by 23.6% from €112,400 in 2019 to €138,900 in 2020.
There were 807,781 persons engaged in Services in 2020, a decrease of 92,305 (10.3%) compared with 2019.
SMEs in the Services sector had 67,897 fewer persons engaged in 2020 than in 2019, a decrease of 10.8%. See Table 3.2 and PxStat Tables.

Table 3.2 Services sector key variables, 2018 - 2020¹
					Percentage change
		2018	2019	2020	2019 - 2020
Services²
Enterprises	No.	157,290	160,906	162,862	1.2%
of which: SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	No.	156,992	160,553	162,566	1.3%
Large (250+ persons engaged)	No.	298	353	296	-16.1%
Persons Engaged	No.	803,147	900,086	807,781	-10.3%
of which: SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	No.	579,576	629,850	561,953	-10.8%
Large (250+ persons engaged)	No.	223,571	270,236	245,828	-9.0%
Turnover	€m	254,492	299,224	304,048	1.6%
of which: SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	€m	114,141	126,414	126,358	0.0%
Large (250+ persons engaged)	€m	140,351	172,810	177,690	2.8%
Gross Value Added	€m	90,718	101,207	112,236	10.9%
of which: SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	€m	46,407	50,806	54,636	7.5%
Large (250+ persons engaged)	€m	44,311	50,401	57,600	14.3%
¹Totals may differ due to rounding.
²Includes sectors H to N (excluding K) and R92, R93, S95, S96.

Open in Excel: Structural Business Statistics 2020 Table 3.2 (XLS 11KB)

X-axis label	Turnover	Gross Value Added
2018	254.492	90.718
2019	299.224	101.207
2020	304.048	112.236

Turnover in Services increased by 1.6% or €4.8 billion in 2020. GVA at €112.2 billion showed an increase of 10.9%.

	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	Large (250+ persons engaged)
2018	579576	223571
2019	629850	270236
2020	561953	245828

Persons engaged in Large enterprises in the Services sector decreased by 24,408 in 2020, a decrease of 9.0%. This compares with a decrease of 67,897 or 10.8% of persons engaged in SMEs. In 2020, seven in ten (69.6%) persons engaged in Services enterprises were employed in SMEs.

X-axis label	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	Large (250+ persons engaged)
2018	46.407	44.311
2019	50.806	50.401
2020	54.636	57.6

In 2020, SMEs in the Services sector generated GVA of €54.6 billion, an increase of €3.8 billion or 7.5%. Large enterprises generated €57.6 billion in 2020, an increase of €7.2 billion or 14.3%.

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Structural Business Statistics 2020

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GVA increased by 4.6% in Distribution and by 10.9% in Services in 2020

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