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For more information on this release:
E-mail: business_stats@cso.ie Ger Doolan (+353) 21 453 5130 Grace Tryell (+353) 21 453 5201
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-6615
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Census of Industrial Production - Local Units, Regional and County Data

2017

Census of Industrial Production - Industrial Local Units 20171
  BorderDublinMid-EastMidlandWestState2
Nationality of Ownership 
Gross Output (€m)Irish4,22613,6974,4352,0082,63842,989
 Foreign4,17617,06911,1631,0688,895157,130
 Total8,40230,76615,5973,07511,533200,119
Persons engaged3Irish15,06132,43122,06010,27313,198144,413
 Foreign7,39518,63511,8322,61911,63097,948
 Total22,45651,06633,89212,89224,828242,361
Size Class of Unit4       
Gross Output (€m)Small & medium3,68514,3677,3572,0465,08348,523
 Large4,71716,3998,2401,0296,449151,596
Persons engagedSmall & medium14,88127,76819,7098,55113,829131,691
 Large7,57523,29814,1834,34110,999110,670
Wages and salaries (€m) 8622,7191,5255101,09911,449
1 Mid-West, South-East and South-West regions are confidential.
2 State totals include units not attributable to size class or region.
3 Number of persons engaged refers to actual number of persons and not full time equivalents.
4 Small and medium local units employ 249 persons or less while large units employ 250 or more.

Dublin region accounted for 15% of Ireland's industrial output in 2017

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The Dublin region accounted for 15.4% or €30.8 billion of Irish industrial output in 2017. Within this region, Foreign owned enterprises accounted for 55.5% of this output as opposed to Irish owned enterprises with 44.5%. The Mid-East and West regions reported €15.6 billion and €11.5 billion worth of industrial gross output respectively. In contrast to theses, the Midland region produced €3.1 billion or 1.5% of the total industrial output produced in Ireland in 2017.

The Mid-West, South-East and South-West regions combined produced €130.7 billion or 65.3% of Ireland’s total industrial output. See Headline table and Figure 1.

Over three-quarters of all industrial gross output was produced by Foreign owned units in 2017

In Ireland 78.5% of total gross output of industrial units was produced by Foreign owned units in 2017.

The Midland region had the lowest proportion of gross output attributable to Foreign owned industrial units at 34.7%. The Border region had the next lowest proportion of total industrial gross output from Foreign owned units at 49.7%.

The West region had 77.1% of total gross industrial output from Foreign owned units, while the Mid-East region had a rate at 71.6%.  See Figure 1.

ForeignIrish
State40.459.6
Border32.967.1
Dublin36.563.5
Mid-East34.965.1
Midland20.379.7
West46.853.2

 

40% of all persons engaged in industry in Ireland in 2017 were in Foreign owned units

There were 97,900 persons engaged in Foreign owned industrial units in 2017, which represented 40.4% of the total number of persons engaged in industrial activity. Irish owned industrial units had 144,400 persons engaged.

The Midland region had 79.7% or 10,300 persons engaged in Irish owned industrial units in 2017, while the Border region had 67.1% or 15,100 persons engaged.

The Mid-East and the Dublin regions had 34.9% and 36.5% of persons engaged in Foreign owned industrial units in 2017 respectively. The Midland region had the lowest number of persons engaged in Foreign owned industrial units at 2,600. The West region had 11,600 persons in Foreign owned industrial units compared with 13,200 persons engaged in Irish owned units.  See Headline table and Figure 2.

Region
State13.1
Border13.9
Midland16.7
West17.8
Dublin7.3
Mid-East13.9
Mid-West15.8
South-East14.9
South-West16.9

13.1% of all persons employed in Ireland in 2017 were employed in industrial activity

According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) results in 2017, for the state, the total number of persons employed in Ireland in 2017 was estimated at 2,206,500 persons. Of this, 13.1% or 289,300 persons were employed in industrial activity.  

In 2017 there were 663,300 persons in employment in Dublin of which 7.3% or 48,200 were employed in the industry sector. The Border region had the next lowest rate for percentage of persons employed in Industry at 13.9% or 25,100 persons. See Figure 3 and Statbank Table QLF07, Q3 data 2017.

Wages and salaries per person engaged
State47241
Border38376
Dublin53247
Mid-East45004
Midland39588
West44267

Wages per person engaged in Industry was highest in the Dublin region at €53,200 in 2017

Wages and salaries per person engaged in the Industry sector in Ireland in 2017 was the highest in the Dublin region at €53,200, while the Mid-East region had the next highest figure at €45,000.

The Border region reported the lowest average wage per person at €38,400. The Midland region had the next lowest at €39,600 with the West region having an average wage of €44,300.

Industrial units in Ireland spent €11.4 billion on wages and salaries in 2017. The Dublin region had a total spend at €2.7 billion while the Mid-East region spent €1.5 billion. The Midland region reported the lowest total spend on wages and salaries by industrial units in 2017 at €510 million. See Headline table and Figure 4.

Small and medium (< 250)Large (250+)
Border36854717
Dublin1436716399
Mid-East73578240
Midland20461029
West50836449

Two thirds of gross industrial output in the Midland region in 2017 came from SMEs

Small and medium enterprises employing less than 250 persons (SMEs) based in the Midlands region accounted for 66.5% of total industrial gross output in that region in 2017. This region produced industrial gross output of €3.1 billion, of which, €2.0 billion was produced by SMEs and €1.0 billion produced by Large units.

In the Dublin region, of the €30.8 billion worth of gross industrial output produced in 2017, €16.4 billion or 53.3% was produced by Large sized units and €14.4 billion was produced by SMEs.

The Mid-East, West and Border regions also saw most of industrial gross output derived from Large sized units in 2017. The Border region had the highest percentage of industrial gross output for Large sized units in Ireland in 2017 at 56.1% followed by the West region at 55.9%. See Headline table and Figure 5.

Small and medium (<250)Large (250+)
Border148817575
Dublin2776823298
Mid-East1970914183
Midland85514341
West1382910999

SMEs accounted for 54% of total industrial employment in 2017

In Ireland, 131,700 or 54.3% of total industrial employment were engaged in SMEs, with 110,700 or 45.7% of employment in Large industrial units.

The region with the largest contribution of persons engaged in SMEs was Dublin with 27,800, while Large sized industrial units had 23,300 persons.

The Border and Midland regions had the greatest proportion of persons engaged in SMEs at 66.3% of total industrial employment. In the Border region, 14,900 of the 22,500 industrial employees were in SMEs, while in the Midland region, 8,600 persons were employed in SMEs with 4,300 employed in Large sized units.

The West region had 55.7% or 13,800 persons engaged in SMEs while the Mid-East region had a slightly higher split with 58.2% or 19,700 persons engaged in industrial SME’s. See Headline table and Figure 6.

Background Notes

Introduction

The Census of Industrial Production comprises two separate but closely related annual inquiries, namely:

 (i)   the Census of Industrial Enterprises covers those enterprises which are wholly or primarily engaged in industrial production published 27 September, 2019.

 (ii)  the Census of Industrial Local Units which covers all industrial local units published 13 November 2019.

The Census of Industrial Production is required under Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 58/97. The 2017 census was taken in accordance with SI 44/2013.  

NACE refers to the classification NACE Revision 2 which is the European Union’s Statistical Classification of Economic Activity in the European communities

For further information on the NACE Rev. 2 classification of industrial activity, visit the CSO website:

Classification of Industrial Activity

An enterprise is defined as the smallest combination of legal units that is an organisational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision making, especially for the allocation of its current resources.  A local unit is defined as an enterprise or part thereof situated in a geographically identified place.

Appreciation is extended to firms that co-operate in this annual census. The information they provide is treated as strictly confidential to the Central Statistics Office. Direct or indirect disclosure of information relating to individual respondents is avoided in the publication of results by combining categories containing small numbers of units and suppressing figures, etc. This factor also limits the degree of cross-classification that is possible in presenting results.

Period Covered by the Census

Although the census relates in principle to the calendar year, respondents are permitted to return figures for their nearest accounting year.  The end of the accounting year for all returns used falls between May of the reference year and April of the following year.  Returns which cover a period of less than 12 months are accepted in cases where businesses have started or ceased trading during the year.

All employment details in the 2017 census relate to the week ending 8 September 2017.  Concerns that had no persons engaged in this week (e.g. ceased operations earlier in the year or started production later in the year) were classified as having zero employment.  In tables which analyse local units in terms of persons engaged, these are included in the lowest size class, e.g. less than ten persons engaged.

Data Collection

The census is conducted by post.  A permanent up-to-date register is kept of all relevant local units and enterprises known to be involved in industrial production.  The register is maintained from the Central Business Register, administrative and public utility records, announcements in the press, business journals, field personnel contacts, etc. This register is constantly being updated.  This results in differing estimates for the total number of enterprises/local units through the dissemination cycle.

An ‘enterprise’ questionnaire is sent to all enterprises whose activity is primarily industrial.  The type of ‘enterprise’ questionnaire depends on the size of the enterprise.  The most detailed form (form F) is generally sent to all enterprises with twenty or more persons engaged.  A less detailed form (form C) is sent to enterprises with between three and twenty persons engaged. In the case of multi-location enterprises, a ‘local unit’ questionnaire is sent to each local unit with three or more persons engaged which was in production during the year.  For the majority of local units, this questionnaire is the standard form L.  In a small number of exceptional cases, a single form L is issued to cover several local units operated by the same enterprise - see Scope of the Local Unit Census below. 

All forms are available on CSO’s website at

Census of Industrial Production Enterprises

In relation to local units involved in NACE Division 36 (Water collection, treatment and supply) a W form is used.  This reflects the difference in activity type of these firms.

All returns are scrutinised clerically for internal accuracy.  They are compared with returns for previous years and in some instances with returns to other industrial inquiries.  Local unit and enterprise returns relating to the same enterprise are examined together for consistency.  A further set of consistency checks is carried out in the computer processing of the data.  Substantial queries arising from these scrutiny operations are referred to the respondent by telephone, in writing or via a field officer.

Industrial Activity Classification and Statistical Units

The 2017 results are classified by NACE Revision 2, which was first introduced for the year 2008.  A correlation table showing the relationship between headings of the old and new classifications is available on request.  Each 4 digit class in NACE Revision 2 relates to a specific form of economic activity, e.g. manufacture of basic pharmaceuticals products (NACE 2110).  The statistical units in the census (local unit and enterprise) are coded to the NACE class relating to their principal industrial activity during the census year.  In the case of local units, this is determined on the basis of detailed information provided on their production of individual products.  The activity classification of enterprises is based on the NACE codes of the constituent local units.  An enterprise that operates several industrial local units coded to different NACE classes is classified to the activity which accounts for the highest proportion of the total value added of the enterprise.

The scope of the census extends to NACE sections B, C, D and E, namely:

Section B:   Mining and quarrying

Section C:   Manufacturing

Section D:   Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Section E:   Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

The traditional category Transportable Goods Industries used in industrial statistics is equivalent to NACE sections B and C.  The Manufacturing Industries grouping includes only section C.

Classification by Nationality of Ownership

The classification is determined by the nationality of the owners of 50 per cent or more of the share capital.  The breakdown which can be provided at sectoral level is in many cases constrained by the need to preserve the confidentiality of data provided by individual units.  For total manufacturing industry, however, a more detailed nationality classification is possible. 

Census of Industrial Enterprises

Scope and Coverage

The enterprise census covers all enterprises which have three or more persons engaged and which are wholly or principally involved in industrial production (i.e. NACE Sections B to E).

An enterprise is defined as the smallest combination of legal units that is an organisational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision making, especially for the allocation of its current resources (e.g. company, partnership, individual proprietorship, etc.).  An enterprise may be a sole legal unit.  In practice, the enterprise is equivalent to a company or firm.  Within a group of companies, each individual company is treated as a separate enterprise.  The return for each enterprise relates to all of its activities and covers all local units operated by it, including those involved in non-industrial activity, e.g. wholesaling or retailing.

Estimation for Non-Respondents

If information for key non-respondents is available from an alternative source, for example, Monthly Production, Quarterly Statistics or Prodcom or a return for the previous year, then the record is manually estimated; otherwise a computerised imputation procedure is used. Full data for enterprises filling in the more restricted C forms is derived using a method known as ratio extension.  Ratio extension involves the application of ratios between known variables to cases where only one subcomponent is known.  The ratios are typically calculated at NACE class level before being applied, although some merging of NACE classes may take place in order to ensure that the ratio estimates are not based on very small populations. 

Enterprise Results for 2017

In 2017 there were 18,000 enterprises known to the CSO to be involved wholly or primarily in industrial production (NACE Sections B, C, D and E).  Their total turnover was €238,601 million and purchases of goods and services amounted to €143,882 million; total gross value added was €103,029 million.  The total number of persons engaged in these enterprises (excluding outside piece-workers) in September 2017 was 242,966; labour costs in the year amounted to €12,929 million, of which wages and salaries accounted for €101,480 million.

Census of Industrial Local Units

Scope and Coverage

The Census of Industrial Local Units relates to all local units engaged in industrial activity. A local unit is defined as an enterprise or part thereof situated in a geographically identified place.  The different geographical locations in which an enterprise conducts industrial activities are treated as separate local units.  A separate return is sought for each industrial local unit.  The extent to which separate returns are obtained in practice, however, depends on the availability of separate records in the business for the different local units. 

If separate details are not available for multi-location enterprises then for those tables involving a classification of local units by size (e.g. number of persons engaged per local unit or gross output per local unit) or by location (county or region) the local units are classified as non-attributable.

Estimation for Non-Respondents

Single local units are estimated at enterprise level while multiple local units attached to a single enterprise are estimated by using the enterprise return and apportioning accordingly relative to employment.

Comparison of Local Unit and Enterprise Census

Coverage and Statistical Units

The results for industrial enterprises must be distinguished from the results for industrial local units.  Despite the fact that, in the majority of cases, the local unit is equivalent to the enterprise, the use of two different units in the two censuses has a number of consequences which must be borne in mind when interpreting and comparing their results, namely:

  • Only enterprises engaged wholly or mainly in industrial production are covered in the Census of Industrial Enterprises.  Some industrial activity recorded in the local unit census is not covered in the enterprise census because it is undertaken by enterprises which are not classified as industrial.  Such enterprises belong to non-industrial sectors such as Distribution, Building and Construction, Transport and Central or Local Government.
  • Conversely, many industrial enterprises are also involved to some extent in non-industrial activity which is reflected in their employment, turnover and other figures.  A rough measure of the amount of distribution activity covered in the enterprise results is that about 16% of turnover in 2016 for NACE Sections B, C, D and E relates to factored goods (i.e. goods resold without further processing).

Variables

The local unit census focuses on the industrial process, namely the utilisation of materials, industrial services and labour, and the value of goods produced during the year.  The most important variables distinguished are, therefore, gross outputindustrial input and net output.  Gross output represents the selling value of goods actually produced in the year, as reported by the businesses themselves, irrespective of whether sold or put into stock.  Industrial input is defined as the cost of materials, industrial services and fuel and power used in the year.  Net output is gross output less industrial input.

The enterprise census, on the other hand, relates to the trading dimension, namely turnover, purchases of materials and services and labour costs during the year.  One of the main variables in this census is, therefore, turnover, which represents the revenue received during the year.  This can be compared with gross output by means of the derived variable production value. This variable approximates closely to the value of gross output of the industrial local units operated by the enterprises.  The different treatment of excise duties and operating subsidies in the two censuses makes comparison more difficult for the small number of industries affected by these factors.

The variable in the enterprise census which approximates most closely to industrial input is intermediate consumption which is defined as the purchases of materials, industrial and non-industrial services and fuel and power less the rise (or plus the fall) during the year of stocks of materials and fuels.  The main difference, therefore, is the inclusion of non-industrial services in intermediate consumption.  In the enterprise census gross value added (excluding VAT) is defined as production value less intermediate consumption; this is the closest approximation to net output as distinguished in the local unit Census.

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