Non-nationals working in Ireland are better qualified than the overall population and also have a higher rate of participation in the labour force, according to the latest batch of census statistics.
Over one in five of the non-Irish nationals in the labour force had professional, technical and health occupations, compared with 16.5 per cent for the population overall.
About 150,000 of the 190,000 non-Irish nationals aged 15 years and over in April 2002 were in the labour force. This represents a participation rate of 79 per cent, compared with 58 per cent for the population as a whole.
The information is contained in the latest volume of detailed results of the census conducted on April 28th, 2002, that gives a breakdown of the population by occupation. The figures show that a further 13 per cent of non-Irish nationals had service occupations compared with 9.6 per cent for the general population.
The towns with the highest concentration of clerical, managing and government workers in 2002 were Malahide (32 per cent, Ratoath, (31.8 per cent), Portmarnock (30.3 per cent), Dunshaughlin (28.2 per cent) and Donabate (27.9 per cent). At national level, this occupational group accounted for over one in six persons in the labour force.
The census shows a fall in the share of manufacturing jobs between 1996 and 2002. The proportion of manufacturing workers fell by over 3 per cent, from 15.7 per cent in 1996 to 12.6 per cent in 2002. The towns with the highest percentages of manufacturing occupations in 2002 were Mitchelstown (26.4 per cent), Clara (24.1 per cent), Shannon (22.9 per cent) and Kanturk (22.9 per cent).
Malahide in north Dublin had the highest proportion of managers and higher professionals. These groups combined represented a total of 41.3 per cent of the relevant population. Greystones (36.7 per cent), Ratoath (36.6 per cent), Oranmore (36.4 per cent) and Enniskerry (35.7 per cent) were next in line.