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E-mail: labour@cso.ie Martina O'Callaghan +353 21 453 5491 Catalina Gonzalez +353 21 453 5163
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information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-6011
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Foreign Nationals: PPSN Allocations, Employment and Social Welfare Activity

2017

Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 & overNumber with no employment activity 2012-2017Employment activity by year
201220132014201520162017
201263,99227,97624,79026,02020,81718,34516,97416,066
201375,74933,6617528,89631,56225,50722,68220,747
201485,68736,738 6335,17037,91330,70326,835
201582,76730,860  5241,85641,61833,088
201694,96833,265   20151,91451,400
2017102,85045,374    9557,461

25.1% of foreign nationals assigned PPSNs in 2012 had employment activity in Ireland in 2017

Figure 1 Foreign Nationals: Employment Activity of PPSN Allocations in 2011
go to full release

Of the 63,992 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who were assigned PPSNs (Personal Public Service Numbers) in 2012, 16,066 (25.1%) had employment activity at any time during 2017. See table 2.

This data is based upon an annual analysis of records of the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and the CSO, based on foreign nationals who were allocated PPSNs during the period 2002-2017.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the term “activity” in this release means any PAYE employment or any engagement with the social welfare system.

The analysis also shows that:

  • Of the 102,850 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who were allocated new PPSNs in 2017, 57,461 had employment activity during the year.  See table 2.
  • Employment activity was recorded in 2017 for 447,416 foreign nationals aged 15 years and over who received PPSNs in the period 2002–2017.  See table 4.
  • A total of 72,687 PPSN’s were allocated to foreign nationals in 2012, while in 2017 this number had risen to 116,331. Allocations to foreign national males in 2017 were 62,247 (53.5%), while female allocations were 54,084 (46.5%). Comparable figures for 2012 showed 37,277 (51.3%) male allocations and 35,410 (48.7%) female allocations.  See table 6.

Activity rate in the year of allocation is 61.0% in 2017

Employment and social welfare activity rates for foreign nationals in 2017 ranged from a low of 32.8% for 2012 allocations, where 21,017 of the 63,992 allocations had employment or interacted with the social welfare system in the year to 61.0% in 2016 and 2017. In 2017, 62,789 of the 102,850 allocations were active in 2017.

For 2017, foreign nationals from the EU15 to EU25 states had the highest activity rate in 2017, with 72.4% (9,358) of allocations recording employment or engagement with the social welfare system in the year. This was followed by nationals from the EU25 to EU28 with 69.6% (11,380) of allocations having activity in the year. The United Kingdom had the lowest activity rate in 2017 with 34.0% (4,496) of allocations recording employment or engagement with the social welfare system in the year. See table 1.

Employment activity rate in year of allocation shows a 1.2 percentage point increase in 2017

Employment activity for PPSN allocations to foreign nationals in the year of arrival increased from 51,914 in 2016 to 57,461 in 2017. The employment activity rate in year of allocation has increased by 1.2 percentage points from 54.7% in 2016 to 55.9% in 2017.

The nationality group with the highest employment activity rate in the year of allocation is the EU15 to EU25 states in 2017 at 67.9%. The Rest of the World had the largest annual increase in the 2017 employment activity rate, increasing by 2.5 percentage points from 50.2% for 2016 allocations to 52.7% for 2017 allocations. See table 2.

Social Welfare activity rate in year of allocation decreased to 7.8% in 2017

In 2017 the social welfare activity rate in the year of allocation was 7.8%, representing a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the 2016 rate of 9.1%. The social welfare activity rate in the year of allocation in 2012 was 8.1%. In 2017, 10,400 (16.3%) of the 63,992 PPSN allocations from 2012 recorded social welfare activity. The comparable figure for 2012 allocations in 2016 was marginally less at 15.7% (10,057). 

Across the nationality groups the largest percentage of 2012 allocations to have social welfare activity in 2017 was the EU25 to EU28 states with 1,352 (26.0%), of the 5,204 allocations to those countries in 2012 recording social welfare activity in 2017. This is followed by the EU15 to EU25 states which have a social welfare activity rate of 24.9% in 2017 for 2012 allocations. See table 3.

It should be noted that there are several possible reasons for increases in social welfare activity by allocation year over time; the birth of a child leading to a child benefit claim, jobseekers claims, and the fact that some benefits depend on habitual residence requirements or on having sufficient social insurance benefits.

 

0
Year PPSN allocatedPPSN Allocations
201272687
201385084
201496114
201594684
2016107748
2017116331

PPSN allocations to foreign nationals increased by 8.0% in 2017

Overall, PPSN allocations to foreign nationals across all age groups were 116,331 in 2017. This is an increase of 8,583 (+8.0%) when compared with allocations in 2016. See table 5 and graph above.

Other main points which can be noted include:

  • A total of 447,416 foreign nationals who were assigned PPSNs during the period 2002-2017 recorded some employment during 2017. The largest numbers were employed in the Accommodation and food service activities (77,032). Five NACE economic sectors (Accommodation and food service activities, Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, Administrative and support service activities, Manufacturing and Information and communication sectors), accounted for 63.0% (281,941) of all foreign national employment activity in 2017.  See table 4.
  • Male and female allocations to foreign nationals were 62,247 and 54,084 respectively in 2017, which compares with 37,277 males and 35,410 females in 2012. See table 6.
  • The United Kingdom had the highest number of PPSN allocations (15,346) in 2017, and has continued to account for the highest number of allocations by country since 2009. Romania recorded the second highest number of allocations (12,081) in 2017. United Kingdom and Romania have had the two highest number of PPSN allocation by country since 2015. Brazil ranked third highest with 10,361 PPSN allocations in 2017.  See table 7.
Table 1 Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment and Social Welfare activity by broad nationality group and year of activity
Numbers
 Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 years and overNumber with no activity 2012–2017Activity1 by year
Broad nationality group 201220132014201520162017
United Kingdom201210,7425,8643,6443,5212,8622,5992,4772,418
 201311,1956,240733,5953,5892,9582,7952,679
 201411,9746,71214803,7593,7993,3383,075
 201513,9548,048711464,4794,7203,868
 201613,7758,159202331784,6664,771
 201713,2428,74211181925634,496
 
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK201214,4304,2258,1807,7545,9805,0294,4234,008
 201316,9325,410349,1428,7746,7595,7935,045
 201418,9105,705*2310,50510,3398,1056,859
 201517,7514,036-*3111,69911,0848,525
 201621,3834,725*785414,41913,708
 201723,7327,652****2816,079
 
EU15 to EU25 states201214,5743,8418,0487,9366,8526,4446,3496,188
 201314,9453,758558,6378,4417,2426,9106,552
 201414,0863,065*569,0428,4637,2666,653
 201513,2742,036*9619,8078,9307,445
 201613,4782,252-*57510,0288,998
 201712,9283,570--*4539,358
 
EU25 to EU28 states20125,2041,5301,8952,8002,6572,6802,6972,663
 20138,1292,275*3,7984,6474,3304,2484,200
 201410,8392,589-115,9006,7856,1915,920
 201512,4521,829--68,7809,0898,071
 201615,7352,842-**3611,00711,347
 201716,3404,959---*3511,380
 
USA20122,1961,263611666529444418391
 20132,4991,451*674797621545492
 20142,7551,546*11831934732614
 20152,7581,562**11908973777
 20163,2431,764***181,1201,267
 20173,6782,368---*101,309
 
Rest of the world201216,8466,6506,1117,3396,1915,6875,4655,349
 201322,0499,084517,4849,8758,4457,8717,437
 201427,12310,95647510,15512,81210,9649,856
 201522,5786,018666212,54713,50310,966
 201627,3546,695*5715416,55217,833
 201732,93012,755-**47020,167
 
Total foreign nationals201263,99223,37328,48930,01625,07122,88321,82921,017
 201375,74928,21821733,33036,12330,35528,16226,405
 201485,68730,5732325640,19243,13236,59632,977
 201582,76723,529152821748,22048,29939,652
 201694,96826,43725385341557,79257,924
 2017102,85040,0461221243725962,789
1 Activity means any PAYE employment or any engagement with the social welfare system.
* Confidential
– No Data
Table 2 Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment activity by broad nationality group and year of activity
Numbers
 Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 years and overNumber with no employment activity 2012–2017Employment activity by year
Broad nationality group 201220132014201520162017
United Kingdom201210,7427,0212,7072,6892,0611,7791,5951,525
 201311,1957,439232,7092,7702,1151,8091,692
 201411,9747,993-142,8812,9072,2121,972
 201513,9549,246--103,5663,6412,746
 201613,7759,207---153,7783,814
 201713,2429,447----53,793
 
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK201214,4304,8357,6057,3235,5784,6103,9583,518
 201316,9326,244228,3258,2686,2785,2384,453
 201418,9106,511-109,7249,8437,5636,267
 201517,7514,707--1611,06310,5487,987
 201621,3835,379--*3913,75113,197
 201723,7328,174----1815,557
 
EU15 to EU25 states201214,5744,6347,3827,1285,8255,2735,0424,801
 201314,9454,659177,8347,5166,1295,6295,138
 201414,0863,949-158,2767,5896,1765,422
 201513,2742,812--109,0808,0556,397
 201613,4782,981---319,3488,197
 201712,9284,147----168,781
 
EU25 to EU28 states20125,2041,8571,7222,4992,3022,2482,2062,166
 20138,1292,746*3,4444,1943,8153,6223,524
 201410,8393,161-85,4546,2445,5095,161
 201512,4522,360--58,3028,4917,367
 201615,7353,553---3210,34210,580
 201716,3405,546----2710,793
 
USA20122,1961,415534554402307267241
 20132,4991,639-582664481364300
 20142,7551,745-3732788547424
 20152,7581,760--5765788580
 20163,2431,973---99731,069
 20173,6782,489----51,188
 
Rest of the world201216,8468,2144,8405,8274,6494,1283,9063,815
 201322,04910,934116,0028,1506,6896,0205,640
 201427,12313,379-138,10310,5428,6967,589
 201522,5789,975--69,08010,0958,011
 201627,35410,172---7513,72214,543
 201732,93015,571----2417,349
 
Total foreign nationals201263,99227,97624,79026,02020,81718,34516,97416,066
 201375,74933,6617528,89631,56225,50722,68220,747
 201485,68736,738-6335,17037,91330,70326,835
 201582,76730,860--5241,85641,61833,088
 201694,96833,265--*20151,91451,400
 2017102,85045,374----9557,461
* Confidential
– No Data
Table 3 Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Social Welfare activity by broad nationality group and year of activity
Numbers
 Year PPSN allocatedAllocations to foreign nationals aged 15 years and overNumber with no S/W activity 2012–2017Social Welfare activity by year
Broad nationality group 201220132014201520162017
United Kingdom201210,7428,3721,1871,2871,2201,2531,3151,369
 201311,1958,838501,1501,2571,2691,4681,460
 201411,9749,57014671,1781,3661,6171,610
 201513,95411,640711371,2491,7091,790
 201613,77511,898202331631,2471,607
 201713,24212,2481118192558986
 
EU15 excl. Ireland and the UK201214,43011,6438551,1291,1861,2201,2651,271
 201316,93213,963121,2071,2301,2171,3281,427
 201418,91016,041*131,2421,2751,3851,566
 201517,75115,533-*151,0311,3181,425
 201621,38319,398*77151,1731,525
 201723,73222,664****101,067
 
EU15 to EU25 states201214,5749,3021,4062,5513,0933,3363,5523,630
 201314,9459,864381,6812,7503,1523,6003,636
 201414,0869,759*411,6752,6773,0203,262
 201513,2749,607*9511,7532,7123,022
 201613,47810,815-*5441,4552,463
 201712,92811,675--*4371,253
 
EU25 to EU28 states20125,2043,3552667349601,1471,3041,352
 20138,1295,527-6111,2701,5061,7931,917
 201410,8397,757-38501,6682,1022,398
 201512,4529,404--*1,0902,1922,610
 201615,73512,907-**41,4772,648
 201716,34014,935---*81,405
 
USA20122,1961,90492154171192198206
 20132,4992,181*112181195237242
 20142,7552,445*8114184237261
 20152,7582,446**7164248268
 20163,2432,962***9171260
 20173,6783,529---*5149
 
Rest of the world201216,84613,4271,3681,8542,0712,2662,4232,572
 201322,04918,294401,6202,1772,4592,7172,904
 201427,12322,6214632,2432,9163,2593,553
 201522,57817,02666563,6804,1314,053
 201627,35422,663*57793,1134,384
 201732,93029,741-**4463,184
 
Total foreign nationals201263,99248,0035,1747,7098,7019,41410,05710,400
 201375,74958,6671426,3818,8659,79811,14311,586
 201485,68768,193231957,30210,08611,62012,650
 201582,76765,65615281678,96712,31013,168
 201694,96880,6432538522148,63612,887
 2017102,85094,792122124371648,044
* Confidential
– No Data
Table 4 Foreign Nationals aged 15 years and over: Employment activity by economic sector and broad nationality group, 20171
Numbers
  Broad nationality group 
Economic Sector (NACE Rev.2)United KingdomEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU28 statesUSARest of the worldTotal foreign nationals
AAgriculture, forestry and fishing3363034,4081,655145237,239
BMining and quarrying432224415-38362
CManufacturing3,0593,80629,9904,7263764,72646,683
DElectricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply16610971307117500
EWater supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities122691,57741651252,314
FConstruction1,5147997,9115,113621,38916,788
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles6,1025,42833,6126,29572711,64063,804
HTransportation and storage1,4495,1188,3771,668481,01817,678
IAccommodation and food service activities 3,8709,45429,33111,30560822,46477,032
JInformation and communication3,10012,5154,4781,5918399,13431,657
KFinancial and insurance activities excluding activities of holding companies2,7754,6283,1746274602,84314,507
LReal estate activities3473271,798596451,0854,198
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities3,1725,3764,9961,4936035,46021,100
NAdministrative and support service activities3,38311,86822,65210,43058913,84362,765
OPublic administration and defence; compulsory social security1,9647371,1293361523,7328,050
PEducation2,2293,1921,9183966793,31811,732
QHuman health and social work actvities3,6223,1718,4202,25235512,77430,594
RArts, entertainment and recreation9124511,3504871209384,258
SOther service activities6974143,8471,816711,7528,597
TActivities of households as employers13376115-80206
UActivities of extra territorial organisations and bodies*610*-1636
Unknown 2,0193,9345,6531,7802983,63217,316
Total40,89671,764175,00753,0446,058100,647447,416
1 This table relates to those foreign nationals assigned PPSNs during the period 2002 to 2017 inclusive and employed during 2017.
* Confidential
– No Data
Table 5 Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by age group and broad nationality group
Numbers
Year PPSN allocatedAge at allocationUKEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU28 statesUSARest of worldTotal foreign nationals1
20120-141,9611,0122,8056344801,8038,695
 15-241,7855,5726,2061,7053926,59422,254
 25-443,9637,7366,7123,0178209,15731,405
 45-643,6409101,4934506598498,001
 65+1,354212163323252462,332
 Total12,70315,44217,3795,8382,67618,64972,687
 
20130-141,9761,3762,4199485362,0809,335
 15-241,5976,1526,2022,4484218,39725,217
 25-443,9569,3607,0444,95290612,19938,417
 45-644,1381,1521,5476837921,0939,405
 65+1,504268152463803602,710
 Total13,17118,30817,3649,0773,03524,12985,084
 
20140-141,8411,5272,6091,3476352,46810,427
 15-241,7587,2475,7173,1925249,46427,902
 25-444,30910,1986,7926,57498915,71144,573
 45-644,3421,2061,4111,0058251,37610,165
 65+1,565259166684175723,047
 Total13,81520,43716,69512,1863,39029,59196,114
 
20150-142,1741,5192,4721,6285653,55911,917
 15-241,8396,5575,2453,4084816,53324,063
 25-445,6479,6796,5657,94796814,24645,052
 45-644,8461,2311,3251,0209031,26910,594
 65+1,622284139774065303,058
 Total16,12819,27015,74614,0803,32326,13794,684
 
20160-142,1401,7822,2052,0856203,94812,780
 15-241,8168,2235,0764,4686456,82927,057
 25-445,39911,4486,7449,6471,24218,46552,945
 45-644,8781,4401,4741,5479341,48611,759
 65+1,682272184734225743,207
 Total15,91523,16515,68317,8203,86331,302107,748
 
20170-142,1041,7761,9472,3397144,60113,481
 15-241,9209,3874,9254,7297758,57330,309
 25-444,53912,1996,2239,7231,33722,23356,254
 45-644,7371,7871,5791,8031,0351,66112,602
 65+2,046359201855314633,685
 Total15,34625,50814,87518,6794,39237,531116,331
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.
Table 6 Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by sex and broad nationality group
Numbers
Year PPSN allocatedSexUKEU15 excl Ireland & the UKEU15 to EU25 statesEU25 to EU28 statesUSARest of worldTotal foreign nationals1
2012Male 7,0148,2938,2193,1991,2569,29637,277
 Female5,6897,1499,1602,6391,4209,35335,410
 Total12,70315,44217,3795,8382,67618,64972,687
 
2013Male 7,3449,6908,3795,1381,40112,47944,431
 Female5,8278,6188,9853,9391,63411,65040,653
 Total13,17118,30817,3649,0773,03524,12985,084
 
2014Male 7,72410,6248,5527,1001,53615,38450,920
 Female6,0919,8138,1435,0861,85414,20745,194
 Total13,81520,43716,69512,1863,39029,59196,114
 
2015Male 9,29610,1678,0748,5241,52314,16051,744
Female6,8329,1037,6725,5561,80011,97742,940
Total16,12819,27015,74614,0803,32326,13794,684
 
2016Male 9,07412,2038,56710,9421,76516,05058,601
Female6,84110,9627,1166,8782,09815,25249,147
Total15,91523,16515,68317,8203,86331,302107,748
 
2017Male 8,75413,4418,19611,5091,92418,42362,247
 Female6,59212,0676,6797,1702,46819,10854,084
 Total15,34625,50814,87518,6794,39237,531116,331
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages.
Table 7 Foreign Nationals: PPSN allocations by nationality1
Numbers
Nationality201220132014201520162017
United Kingdom12,70313,17113,81516,12815,91515,346
Romania5,2827,7119,0798,63911,20812,081
Brazil5,4276,1847,6904,9937,24210,361
Poland8,6589,2369,1198,5858,0186,817
Spain3,9375,0095,1964,3555,4376,339
Italy2,7693,6274,3334,1875,5625,998
India1,8482,6103,0543,1294,9605,782
Croatia864882,2244,3425,3124,908
France2,9163,1753,7413,7434,3804,857
USA2,6763,0353,3903,3233,8634,392
Lithuania2,8612,5182,3152,3372,8373,119
Germany2,1432,1632,4092,4582,4852,647
Portugal1,1461,5931,9591,6272,1452,211
China1,1371,1111,4301,1491,5001,849
Bulgaria4708788831,0991,3001,690
Pakistan7248831,6123,1662,2151,646
Latvia1,7631,5691,3101,1721,3151,399
Hungary1,9961,8821,7271,6151,4351,368
Australia5856388811,0361,1531,212
Philippines3844234114279191,161
Mexico3835447734506401,124
Slovakia1,1391,0961,0859589961,067
Netherlands660823886827959989
South Africa337347445481805972
Canada6127448418861,034967
All Other Countries10,04513,62615,50613,57214,11316,029
Total72,68785,08496,11494,684107,748116,331
1 This table includes PPSN allocations to foreign nationals of all ages and is sorted in descending order of allocations in 2017.

Background Notes

Data sources

This analysis is based on three data sources:

  • The Central Records System of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
  • The P35 files (employer end-of-year returns) of the Revenue Commissioners.
  • The Central Business Register of the Central Statistics Office.

The variables used were the date the PPSN was assigned, the nationality at that time, the age at that time, sex, and the NACE category of economic activity.

For some persons, employment is recorded before the year the PPSN was issued. These numbers, which are relatively small, have been blanked in the headline table for clarity but are included in the detailed tables.

Some pensioners are included in the P35 data, but their numbers are small.  Also, self-employed persons are excluded from the data from 2005 if they had no P35 self-employed income and if they had no other work as an employee.

Data analysis from 2002 (Social Welfare activity) and 2005 (Employment activity) are updated annually and available through the CSO Statbank at:

http://www.cso.ie/shorturl.aspx/213

Nationality groups

The category EU15 excl Ireland & the UK consists of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Finland and Sweden

The category EU15 to EU25 states consists of the states that joined the EU on 1 May 2004: the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

The category EU25 to EU28 states consist of Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU on 1 January 2007 and Croatia on 1 July 2013.

Definitions

Employment Activity: Employment activity for the purposes of this release includes any person appearing on the Revenue P35 files, or in the employment file within the Central Records System of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. The level of activity can vary from having worked one day in the year to working full-time throughout the year. 

Social Welfare Activity: Social welfare activity for the purposes of this release includes any person appearing in the claims files within the Central Records System of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. This includes one off claims, such as dental and optical benefits, and ongoing claims, such as Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance, pensions and illness payments.

NACE Rev 2: Employment is classified using NACE Rev 2. Where persons had two or more employments during a year, they were allocated to the NACE category with the largest number of weeks of employment.

Background to the study

The results presented in this release are based on a data-matching exercise undertaken by the CSO, for statistical purposes, of administrative data from of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners. This study was undertaken in line with the Statistics Act, 1993, and the CSO Data Protocol governing data matching exercises undertaken by the CSO (available at http://www.cso.ie/en/aboutus/csodataprotocol/ ).

 

 

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