General Workers

Note: There are a number of occupations discussed in this section which for simplicity are referred to as labourers; these include cleaners, porters, sorters, various types of mates

Key points for selected labourers

• There were approximately 139,000 persons employed as labourers, representing 7.7% of Ireland‘s workforce
• Approximately 85,000 or just over 60% of all persons employed as labourers were engaged in cleaning services, sales and storage services and construction activities
• Employment in the selected occupations contracted by 10.7% on average annually over the period 2007-2011 ― the most rapid pace of contraction observed among the 17 occupational groups examined in this report, after construction craft occupations; this overall decline translated into approximately 79,000 net job losses over that period; most of the job losses were for construction and process plant labourers
• Between 2010 and 2011, approximately 8,600 net job losses were experienced across all occupations; the largest absolute decline in employment was recorded for construction labourers ― at almost 14,000; in contrast, the largest absolute increase in employment was for cleaning occupations
• Approximately one fifth of the workforce of labourers in both cleaning and security services was aged 55 and over ‒ the most mature workforces among the selected occupations
• One fifth of all persons employed as labourers in cleaning and security services were aged 55 and over ― the most mature workforces among the selected occupations
• The share of the overall workforce of labourers who held higher secondary/FET qualifications and lower secondary or less qualifications was above the national average ― at 47% and 39% respectively; in contrast, only 14% of persons held third level qualifications ― significantly below the national average of 45%
• The workforce of all types of labourers was predominantly male, with the exception of labourers in cleaning, with just over 70% female
• Approximately two fifths of the overall workforce of both labourers in cleaning and process plant was composed of non-Irish nationals ― the highest representation of non-Irish nationals in the national workforce
• The unemployment rate for most of the selected types of labourers exceeded the national average; at 42%, the highest rate was for labourers in construction
• The prevalence of part-time work among labourers in cleaning services was one of the highest economy-wide ― almost two fifths of the overall workforce worked part-time (at just over three fifths for cleaners and domestics)

Shortage Indicators

There are no shortages of labourers in Ireland at present. However, there are issues in sourcing cleaners and kitchen assistants domestically. Approximately 40% of those employed in both occupations was non-Irish ‒ the inflow of workers from non-EEA countries in these occupations continued throughout the recession ‒ with over 150 new employment permits issued in 2011.