You are here: Home / Statistics / Structural Business Statistics 2018

PDF - Summary (KB)

PDF - Full (KB)

Extra information

PxStat interactive tables:

Census Of Industrial Production, Enterprises - Industrial Annual Services Building and Construction Inquiry

Methodology Previous Releases

International comparison:

No link available

For more information on this release:

E-mail: business_stats@cso.ie Grace Tyrrell (+353) 21 453 5201 Stephanie Kelleher (+353) 21 453 5123 Sorcha O'Callaghan (+353) 21 453 5523

For general information on CSO statistics:

information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2565-5337

CSO statistical release, 24 September 2020, 11am

Structural Business Statistics

2018

Structural Business Statistics, 2016 - 2018
					Percentage change
		2016	2017	2018	2017 - 2018	2016 - 2018
Enterprises	No.	262,204	283,244	281,408	-0.6	7.3
Persons Engaged	No.	1,444,425	1,522,182	1,573,271	3.4	8.9
Turnover	€m	644,975	667,699	734,328	10.0	13.9
Gross Value Added	€m	190,934	210,325	235,376	11.9	23.3
Structural Business Statistics includes all Industrial, Distribution and Services & Building and Construction enterprises in Ireland.

Turnover in the Structural Business Economy increased 10% to €734 billion in 2018

Figure 1: Turnover for Structural Business Statistics, 2016 - 2018

go to full release

Total turnover in the Structural Business Economy increased by 10.0% between 2017 and 2018, bringing the value to €734.3 billion in 2018.
Gross Value Added (GVA), which represents the value of goods and services produced in the economy, was €235.4 billion in 2018. This was an 11.9% annual increase and a 23.3% increase since 2016.
The number of persons engaged rose by 3.4% in 2018 to 1,573,271 persons.
Between 2016 and 2018, the number of persons engaged increased by 8.9%, an overall increase of 128,846 persons.
The number of enterprises in the Structural Business Economy decreased by 0.6% to 281,408 in 2018. See Headline Table and Figure 1.

This release provides details of individual surveys in the Structural Business Economy i.e. Census of Industrial Production, Annual Services Inquiry & Building and Construction Inquiry. It also analyses these sectors by size class of enterprise and nationality of ownership.

Industry

Show Table 1 Industrial sector key variables, 2016 - 2018

Table 1 Industrial sector key variables, 2016 - 2018
					Percentage change
		2016	2017	2018	2017 - 2018
Industry (B-E)
Enterprises	No.	17,555	18,817	18,703	-0.6
of which; SMEs (<250)		17,380	18,639	18,527	-0.6
Large (250+)		175	178	176	-1.1
Persons Engaged	No.	235,352	242,966	250,635	3.2
of which; SMEs (<250)		121,921	125,596	128,787	2.5
Large (250+)		113,431	117,370	121,848	3.8
Turnover	€m	227,154	238,601	268,289	12.4
of which; SMEs (<250)		41,571	44,328	47,006	6.0
Large (250+)		185,583	194,273	221,283	13.9
Gross Value Added	€m	93,264	103,029	110,470	7.2
of which; SMEs (<250)		15,017	15,045	13,953	-7.3
Large (250+)		78,247	87,984	96,517	9.7
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have less than 250 persons engaged. Large enterprises have 250 or more persons engaged.
Totals may differ due to rounding.

View Table in PxStat

Open in Excel: SBS2018ATBL1 (XLS 10KB)

Hide Table

Persons engaged in Industrial sector increased 3.2% in 2018

The number of persons engaged in Industrial Production in Ireland in 2018 increased by 3.2% to 250,635.
Large industrial enterprises reported a 3.8% increase in persons engaged, a 13.9% increase in turnover and a 9.7% increase in Gross Value Added in 2018.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Industrial sector reported a 2.5% increase in persons engaged, a 6.0% increase in turnover and a 7.3% decrease in Gross Value Added in 2018.
Since 2008, the number of enterprises in the Industrial sector in Ireland has increased by over 2,700 enterprises, from 15,955 in 2008 to 18,703 in 2018. See Table 1*.

*Please note that Statbank tables for Industry for 2018 are unavailable at present and will be published at a later date.

X-axis label	Turnover	Gross Value Added
2016	227.154	93.264
2017	238.601	103.029
2018	268.289	110.47

Industrial Gross Value Added rose by 7.2% from €103.0 billion in 2017 to €110.5 billion in 2018.
Turnover in the Industrial sector increased by 12.4% to €268.3 billion in 2018. See Figure 2.

	Large (250+ persons engaged)	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016	113431	121921
2017	117370	125596
2018	121848	128787

The number of persons engaged in Large Industrial enterprises increased at a slightly faster rate (3.8%) compared to SMEs (2.5%) in 2018.
The number of persons engaged in Industrial SMEs increased by 5.6% in the period 2016 to 2018.
For Large Industrial enterprises, the number of persons engaged increased by 7.4% over the same period.
Since 2008, the difference in persons engaged in Industrial SMEs compared to Large enterprises has narrowed from 39,894 (2008), to 18,385 (2013) and to 6,939 in 2018. See Figure 3.

X-axis label	Large (250+ persons engaged)	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016	78.247	15.017
2017	87.984	15.045
2018	96.517	13.953

GVA for Industrial SMEs decreased by 7.3% in 2018 to €14.0 billion.
Gross Value Added in Large Industrial enterprises rose by 9.7% from €88.0 billion in 2017 to €96.5 billion in 2018.
In 2018, the split for Industrial GVA between Large enterprises and SMEs was 87:13 in favour of Large enterprises. See Figure 4.

Distribution and Services

Show Table 2 Distribution sector and Services sector key variables, 2016 - 2018

Table 2 Distribution sector and Services sector key variables, 2016 - 2018
					Percentage change
		2016	2017	2018	2017 - 2018
Distribution (G)
Enterprises	No.	46,595	48,598	47,789	-1.7
of which; SMEs (<250)		46,501	48,498	47,680	-1.7
Large (250+)		94	100	109	9.0
Persons Engaged	No.	356,057	367,405	374,968	2.1
of which; SMEs (<250)		257,718	264,684	267,160	0.9
Large (250+)		98,339	102,721	107,808	5.0
Turnover	€m	183,434	186,677	182,394	-2.3
of which; SMEs (<250)		154,035	158,820	152,308	-4.1
Large (250+)		29,399	27,857	30,085	8.0
Gross Value Added	€m	22,226	22,394	23,465	4.8
of which; SMEs (<250)		16,919	17,158	18,332	6.8
Large (250+)		5,307	5,237	5,133	-2.0
Services (H-N, R92,R93,S95,S96 excluding K)
Enterprises	No.	146,486	158,574	157,290	-0.8
of which; SMEs (<250)		146,238	158,311	156,992	-0.8
Large (250+)		248	263	298	13.3
Persons Engaged	No.	732,675	774,572	803,147	3.7
of which; SMEs (<250)		540,538	569,159	579,576	1.8
Large (250+)		192,137	205,413	223,571	8.8
Turnover	€m	214,959	217,552	254,492	17.0
of which; SMEs (<250)		110,798	109,517	114,141	4.2
Large (250+)		104,160	108,036	140,351	29.9
Gross Value Added	€m	68,484	75,607	90,718	20.0
of which; SMEs (<250)		41,411	40,812	46,407	13.7
Large (250+)		27,073	34,795	44,311	27.3
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have less than 250 persons engaged. Large enterprises have 250 or more persons engaged.
Totals may differ due to rounding.

View Table ANA09 in PxStat

View Table in PxStat

Open in Excel: SBS2018ATBL2 (XLS 11KB)

Hide Table

The number of enterprises in both Distribution and Services sectors decreased slightly in 2018

In 2018 the number of enterprises in the Distribution sector decreased by 1.7% and by 0.8% in the Services sector.
While there was a reduction in the number of enterprises in SMEs in 2018, the number of Large enterprises increased by 9.0% in the Distribution sector and by 13.3% in the Services sector.
As was the case in 2017, almost all (99.8%) of the enterprises in both sectors were SMEs with less than 250 persons engaged.
The number of persons engaged increased in both SMEs and in Large enterprises. The largest increase in both absolute numbers and in percentage terms was in Large enterprises in the Services sector (18,158 or 8.8%).
The average GVA per person engaged in the Distribution and Services sectors in 2018 increased to €96,900 from €85,800 in 2017.
The largest GVA per person engaged was in Services Large enterprises, amounting to €198,200, while the lowest was in the Distribution Large enterprises at €47,600 in 2018.
The average number of persons engaged per enterprise in 2018 in the Distribution sector was 8 and 5 in the Services sector. See Table 2 and Statbank Tables

X-axis label	Turnover	Gross Value Added
2016	183.434	22.226
2017	186.677	22.394
2018	182.394	23.465

Turnover decreased by 2.3% in the Distribution sector in 2018 to €182.4 billion from €186.7 billion in 2017.
Gross Value Added increased by €1.1 billion in 2018 (4.8%). See Figure 5 and Statbank Table ANA13

	Large (250+ persons engaged)	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016	98339	257718
2017	102721	264684
2018	107808	267160

The number of persons engaged in the Distribution sector has increased by 2.1% in 2018 to 374,968 from 367,405 in 2017.
SMEs accounted for 71.2% of total persons engaged in the Distribution sector. See Figure 6 and Statbank table ANA09

X-axis label	Large (250+ persons engaged)	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016	5.307	16.919
2017	5.237	17.158
2018	5.133	18.332

In 2018 GVA in SMEs increased by 6.8% in the Distribution sector to €18.3 billion.
Large enterprises showed a decrease of 2.0% in GVA to €5.1 billion.
SMEs accounted for 78.1% of total GVA for the Distribution sector in 2018. See Figure 7 and Statbank Table ANA09

X-axis label	Turnover	Gross Value Added
2016	214.959	68.484
2017	217.552	75.607
2018	254.492	90.718

Turnover in the Services sector increased by €36.9 billion (17.0%) in 2018.
GVA increased by 20.0% in 2018 to reach €90.7 billion.
GVA for Large enterprises increased by 27.3% rising from €34.8 billion in 2017 to €44.3 billion in 2018. See Figure 8 and Statbank Table ANA13

	Large (250+ persons engaged)	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016	192137	540538
2017	205413	569159
2018	223571	579576

The number of persons engaged in the Services sector increased by 28,575 (3.7%) in 2018.
Almost two thirds (63.5%) of the increase occurred in Large enterprises.
Nearly three quarters of persons engaged in the Services sector in 2018 were in SMEs (72.2%). See Figure 9 and Statbank Table ANA09.

X-axis label	Large (250+ persons engaged)	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016	27.073	41.411
2017	34.795	40.812
2018	44.311	46.407

Large enterprises in the Services sector increased their GVA in 2018 by 27.3%.
GVA in SMEs increased by €5.6 billion (13.7%).
Large enterprises, of which there were less than 300 in total, produced 48.8% of GVA in the Services sector. The remainder of GVA (51.2%) was generated by 157,000 SMEs in the Services sector. See Figure 10 and Statbank Table ANA09

Building and Construction

Show Table 3 Building and Construction sector key variables, 2016 - 2018

Table 3 Building and Construction sector key variables, 2016 - 2018
					Percentage change
		2016	2017	2018	2017 - 2018
Building and Construction (F)
Enterprises	No.	51,568	57,255	57,626	0.6
of which; SMEs (<250)		51,554	57,238	57,605	0.6
Large (250+)		14	17	21	23.5
Persons Engaged	No.	120,341	137,239	144,521	5.3
of which; SMEs (<250)		113,558	128,303	133,932	4.4
Large (250+)		6,783	8,936	10,589	18.5
Turnover	€m	19,428	24,869	29,153	17.2
of which; SMEs (<250)		17,395	22,492	25,558	13.6
Large (250+)		2,033	2,376	3,595	51.3
Gross Value Added	€m	6,960	9,295	10,723	15.4
of which; SMEs (<250)		6,296	8,482	9,480	11.8
Large (250+)		664	813	1,243	52.9
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have less than 250 persons engaged. Large enterprises have 250 or more persons engaged.
Totals may differ due to rounding.

View Table BAA13 in PxStat

View Table in PxStat

Open in Excel: SBS2018ATBL3 (XLS 10KB)

Hide Table

Annual increase of 17.2% in turnover in Building and Construction

Construction turnover increased by 17.2% to €29.2 billion and Construction GVA increased by 15.4% to €10.7 billion in 2018.
Large Construction enterprises recorded a 51.3% increase in turnover, a 52.9% increase in GVA and an 18.5% increase in persons engaged in 2018.
In 2018 the number of Construction enterprises increased by 0.6% from 57,255 in 2017 to 57,626 in 2018.
The year on year change showed that the number of persons engaged in these enterprises in 2018 rose by 5.3% to 144,521. See Table 3 and Statbank Tables

X-axis label	Turnover	Gross Value Added
2016	19.428	6.96
2017	24.869	9.295
2018	29.153	10.723

In 2018 there was an annual increase in Construction turnover of 17.2% from €24.9 billion in 2017 to €29.2 billion in 2018.
The year on year change in GVA showed an increase of 15.4% up from €9.3 billion in 2017 to €10.7 billion in 2018. See Figure 11 and Statbank Table BAA12

X-axis label	Large (250+ persons engaged)	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016	6783	113558
2017	8936	128303
2018	10589	133932

Persons engaged in SMEs rose by 4.4% to 133,932 in 2018 from 128,303 in the previous year.
Persons engaged in Large enterprises increased by 18.5% from 8,936 in 2017 to 10,589 in 2018. See Figure 12 and Statbank Table BAA13

X-axis label	Large (250+ persons engaged)	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)
2016	0.664	6.296
2017	0.813	8.482
2018	1.243	9.48

Gross Value Added for SMEs rose by 11.8% to €9.5 billion in 2018 from €8.5 billion in the previous year.
Large enterprises reported an increase in GVA, which rose by 52.9% from €813 million in 2017 to €1.2 billion in 2018. See Figure 13 and Statbank Table BAA13

Over 74% of persons engaged were employed in Irish owned enterprises

Show Table 4 Breakdown of persons engaged and Gross Value Added by sector, nationality of ownership and size class, 2018

Table 4 Breakdown of persons engaged and Gross Value Added by sector, nationality of ownership and size class, 2018
	Persons engaged	Gross Value Added
	No.	€m
Industry - Irish owned	140,059	12,805
of which; SMEs (<250)	99,081	7,033
Large (250+)	40,978	5,772
Industry - Foreign owned	110,576	97,665
of which; SMEs (<250)	29,706	6,920
Large (250+)	80,870	90,745
Industry- Total	250,635	110,470
of which; SMEs (<250)	128,787	13,953
Large (250+)	121,848	96,517
Distribution - Irish owned	268,525	12,805
of which; SMEs (<250)	233,823	11,108
Large (250+)	34,702	1,697
Distribution - Foreign owned	106,443	10,660
of which; SMEs (<250)	33,337	7,224
Large (250+)	73,106	3,436
Distribution - Total	374,968	23,465
of which; SMEs (<250)	267,160	18,332
Large (250+)	107,808	5,133
Services - Irish owned	625,172	43,721
of which; SMEs (<250)	516,445	34,751
Large (250+)	108,727	8,970
Services - Foreign owned	177,975	46,997
of which; SMEs (<250)	63,131	11,656
Large (250+)	114,844	35,341
Services - Total	803,147	90,718
of which; SMEs (<250)	579,576	46,407
Large (250+)	223,571	44,311
Building and construction - Irish owned	135,233	9,671
of which; SMEs (<250)	130,718	8,796
Large (250+)	4,515	875
Building and construction - Foreign owned	9,288	1,051
of which; SMEs (<250)	3,214	683
Large (250+)	6,074	368
Building and construction - Total	144,521	10,723
of which; SMEs (<250)	133,932	9,480
Large (250+)	10,589	1,243
All sectors - Irish owned	1,168,989	79,002
of which; SMEs (<250)	980,067	61,688
Large (250+)	188,922	17,314
All sectors - Foreign owned	404,282	156,373
of which; SMEs (<250)	129,388	26,483
Large (250+)	274,894	129,890
All sectors - Total	1,573,271	235,376
of which; SMEs (<250)	1,109,455	88,172
Large (250+)	463,816	147,204
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have less than 250 persons engaged. Large enterprises have 250 or more persons engaged.
Totals may differ due to rounding.

View Table in PxStat

Open in Excel: SBS2018ATBL4 (XLS 11KB)

Hide Table

Irish owned SMEs accounted for 85.6% of persons engaged in the Distribution, Services and Building and Construction sectors.
Industry had the lowest proportion of persons engaged and GVA in Irish-Owned enterprises with 55.9% of persons engaged and 11.6% of GVA.
Foreign owned enterprises in the Services sector had 22.2% of persons engaged but produced 51.8% of Services GVA in 2018.
Of the four sectors, Building and Construction had the highest concentration of Irish-Owned enterprises with 93.6% of persons engaged and 90.2% of GVA.
Foreign-owned Industrial enterprises accounted for 41.5% of the total GVA of the four sectors in 2018. See Table 4.

	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	Large (250+ persons engaged)
Industry - Irish	70.7	29.3
Industry - Foreign	26.9	73.1
Distribution - Irish	87.1	12.9
Distribution - Foreign	31.3	68.7
Services- Irish	82.6	17.4
Services - Foreign	35.5	64.5
Building and Construction - Irish	96.7	3.3
Building and Construction - Foreign	34.6	65.4
All sectors - Irish	83.8	16.2
All sectors - Foreign	32	68

More than two thirds (70.7%) of employment in Irish owned Industrial enterprises was in SMEs in 2018.
The reverse is true of foreign owned Industrial enterprises, where almost three quarters (73.1%) of all persons engaged were employed in Large enterprises.
More persons were engaged in Irish owned SMEs in the Distribution sector (233,823) than were engaged in Large enterprises (34,702). Conversely 73,106 persons were engaged in Large Foreign owned enterprises in the Distribution sector compared with 33,337 in SMEs.
The proportion of persons engaged in Irish owned SMEs in the Services sector was 82.6% compared to 17.4% in Large enterprises.
Employment in Irish owned Construction enterprises was concentrated in SMEs with these enterprises responsible for 96.7% of all persons engaged.
Almost two thirds, 65.4%, of employment in foreign owned Construction enterprises was in Large enterprises. See Figure 14.

	SMEs (<250 persons engaged)	Large (250+ persons engaged)
Industry - Irish	54.9	45.1
Industry - Foreign	7.1	92.9
Distribution - Irish	86.7	13.3
Distribution - Foreign	67.8	32.2
Services- Irish	79.5	20.5
Services - Foreign	24.8	75.2
Building and Construction - Irish	91	9
Building and Construction - Foreign	65	35
All sectors - Irish	78.1	21.9
All sectors - Foreign	16.9	83.1

Among Irish owned Construction enterprises, SMEs accounted for 91.0% of GVA

Large Industrial enterprises generated 92.9% of GVA in foreign owned enterprises in 2018.
Irish owned Industrial enterprises were more evenly split, with 54.9% of GVA coming from SMEs and 45.1% generated by Large Industrial enterprises.
In the Distribution sector both Irish and Foreign owned SMEs contribute more GVA than their equivalent Large enterprises. Irish owned SMEs have 86.7% of Irish owned GVA compared to Foreign owned SMEs having 67.8%.
Out of every 10 euro GVA generated in 2018 in an Irish owned Service enterprise nearly 8 euro was in an SME (79.5%). GVA in Foreign owned Service enterprises was dominated by Large enterprises (75.2%).
Among Irish owned Construction enterprises, SMEs accounted for 91.0% of GVA, with Large enterprises accounting for 9.0%.
For foreign owned Construction enterprises, SMEs accounted for 65.0% of GVA, with Large enterprises accounting for 35.0%. See Figure 15.