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Summary

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Video transcript available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=918owLdYnts.
Quick Facts: General Office Clerks
2023 Median Pay $40,480 per year
$19.46 per hour
Typical Entry-Level Education High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience in a Related Occupation None
On-the-job Training Short-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2023 2,645,800
Job Outlook, 2023-33 -6% (Decline)
Employment Change, 2023-33 -147,500

What General Office Clerks Do

General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records.

Work Environment

Although general office clerks are employed in nearly every industry, many work in schools, healthcare facilities, and government offices. 

How to Become a General Office Clerk

General office clerks typically need a high school diploma or equivalent. Most learn their skills on the job.

Pay

The median hourly wage for general office clerks was $19.46 in May 2023.

Job Outlook

Employment of general office clerks is projected to decline 6 percent from 2023 to 2033.

Despite declining employment, about 284,600 openings for general office clerks are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

State & Area Data

Explore resources for employment and wages by state and area for general office clerks.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of general office clerks with similar occupations.

More Information, Including Links to O*NET

Learn more about general office clerks by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.

What General Office Clerks Do About this section

General office clerks
General office clerks type, format, or edit routine memos.

General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records.

Duties

General office clerks typically do the following:

  • Answer and transfer telephone calls or take messages
  • Sort and deliver incoming mail and send outgoing mail
  • Schedule appointments and receive customers or visitors
  • Provide general information to staff, clients, or the public
  • Type, format, or edit routine memos or other reports
  • Copy, file, and update paper and electronic documents
  • Prepare and process bills and other office documents
  • Collect information and perform data entry

Rather than performing a single specialized task, general office clerks have responsibilities that often change daily with the current needs of the employer.

Some clerks file documents or answer phones; others enter data into computers or perform other tasks using software applications. They also frequently use photocopiers, scanners, fax machines, and other office equipment.

The specific duties assigned to clerks will depend on the type of office in which they work. For example, a general office clerk at a college or university may process application materials and answer questions from prospective students, while a clerk at a hospital may file and retrieve medical records.

Work Environment About this section

General office clerks
General office clerks work in offices.

General office clerks held about 2.6 million jobs in 2023. The largest employers of general office clerks were as follows:

Educational services; state, local, and private 12%
Healthcare and social assistance 11
Government 10
Construction 9
Professional, scientific, and technical services 8

General office clerks usually work in office settings.

Work Schedules

Most general office clerks work full time.

How to Become a General Office Clerk About this section

General office clerks
General office clerks usually need a high school diploma or equivalent.

General office clerks typically need a high school diploma or equivalent to enter the occupation and learn their skills on the job.

Education

General office clerks usually need a high school diploma or equivalent. Some clerks have a bachelor's degree in fields such as business, social science, and psychology.

Courses in using computer applications, such as word processing and spreadsheet software, may be helpful for those who aren’t already familiar with them.

Training

General office clerks usually learn their skills while on the job. Their training typically lasts up to 1 month and may include instructions on office procedures, proper phone etiquette, and the use of office equipment.

Advancement

General office clerks may advance to other administrative positions with more responsibility, such as secretaries and administrative assistants.

Advancement opportunities often depend on work experience.

Important Qualities

Customer-service skills. General office clerks often provide general information to company staff, customers, or the public. They should be courteous and prompt with their responses.

Detail oriented. General office clerks perform many clerical tasks that require attention to detail, such as preparing bills.

Organizational skills. General office clerks file and retrieve records. They need to keep records organized to be able to access them quickly and efficiently.

Pay About this section

General Office Clerks

Median hourly wages, May 2023

Total, all occupations

$23.11

Office and administrative support occupations

$21.39

Office clerks, general

$19.46

 

The median hourly wage for general office clerks was $19.46 in May 2023. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $13.57, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $29.66.

In May 2023, the median hourly wages for general office clerks in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Government $21.51
Construction 21.07
Professional, scientific, and technical services 20.12
Healthcare and social assistance 18.83
Educational services; state, local, and private 18.49

Most general office clerks work full time.

Job Outlook About this section

General Office Clerks

Percent change in employment, projected 2023-33

Total, all occupations

4%

Office and administrative support occupations

-4%

Office clerks, general

-6%

 

Employment of general office clerks is projected to decline 6 percent from 2023 to 2033.

Despite declining employment, about 284,600 openings for general office clerks are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

The continued use of technology that automates document preparation and other clerical tasks, such as automated phone systems, will result in fewer general office clerks needed to perform this work. In addition, electronic filing systems and file sharing software allow other office workers to do the tasks previously done by general office clerks, further decreasing employment of office clerks. However, there will still be some sustained demand for these workers to handle administrative tasks.

Employment projections data for general office clerks, 2023-33
Occupational Title SOC Code Employment, 2023 Projected Employment, 2033 Change, 2023-33 Employment by Industry
Percent Numeric

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program

Office clerks, general

43-9061 2,645,800 2,498,200 -6 -147,500 Get data

State & Area Data About this section

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link(s) below go to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area.

Projections Central

Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at www.projectionscentral.org. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. In addition, states may produce projections for areas; there are links to each state’s websites where these data may be retrieved.

CareerOneStop

CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.

Similar Occupations About this section

This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of general office clerks.

Occupation Job Duties ENTRY-LEVEL EDUCATION Help on Entry-Level Education 2023 MEDIAN PAY Help on Median Pay
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks produce financial records for organizations and check financial records for accuracy.

Some college, no degree $47,440
Customer service representatives Customer Service Representatives

Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and answer questions.

High school diploma or equivalent $39,680
Information clerks Information Clerks

Information clerks perform routine clerical duties, maintain records, collect data, and provide information to customers.

See How to Become One $40,540
Material recording clerks Material Recording Clerks

Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule.

High school diploma or equivalent $44,210
Receptionists Receptionists

Receptionists do tasks such as answering phones, receiving visitors, and providing information about their organization to the public.

High school diploma or equivalent $35,840
Secretaries and administrative assistants Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Secretaries and administrative assistants do routine clerical and organizational tasks.

High school diploma or equivalent $46,010
Suggested citation:

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, General Office Clerks,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/general-office-clerks.htm (visited October 02, 2024).

Last Modified Date: Thursday, August 29, 2024

What They Do

The What They Do tab describes the typical duties and responsibilities of workers in the occupation, including what tools and equipment they use and how closely they are supervised. This tab also covers different types of occupational specialties.

Work Environment

The Work Environment tab includes the number of jobs held in the occupation and describes the workplace, the level of physical activity expected, and typical hours worked. It may also discuss the major industries that employed the occupation. This tab may also describe opportunities for part-time work, the amount and type of travel required, any safety equipment that is used, and the risk of injury that workers may face.

How to Become One

The How to Become One tab describes how to prepare for a job in the occupation. This tab can include information on education, training, work experience, licensing and certification, and important qualities that are required or helpful for entering or working in the occupation.

Pay

The Pay tab describes typical earnings and how workers in the occupation are compensated—annual salaries, hourly wages, commissions, tips, or bonuses. Within every occupation, earnings vary by experience, responsibility, performance, tenure, and geographic area. For most profiles, this tab has a table with wages in the major industries employing the occupation. It does not include pay for self-employed workers, agriculture workers, or workers in private households because these data are not collected by the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, the source of BLS wage data in the OOH.

State & Area Data

The State and Area Data tab provides links to state and area occupational data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, state projections data from Projections Central, and occupational information from the Department of Labor's CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The Job Outlook tab describes the factors that affect employment growth or decline in the occupation, and in some instances, describes the relationship between the number of job seekers and the number of job openings.

Similar Occupations

The Similar Occupations tab describes occupations that share similar duties, skills, interests, education, or training with the occupation covered in the profile.

Contacts for More Information

The More Information tab provides the Internet addresses of associations, government agencies, unions, and other organizations that can provide additional information on the occupation. This tab also includes links to relevant occupational information from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET).

2023 Median Pay

The wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Median wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. In May 2023, the median annual wage for all workers was $48,060.

On-the-job Training

Additional training needed (postemployment) to attain competency in the skills needed in this occupation.

Entry-level Education

Typical level of education that most workers need to enter this occupation.

Work experience in a related occupation

Work experience that is commonly considered necessary by employers, or is a commonly accepted substitute for more formal types of training or education.

Number of Jobs, 2023

The employment, or size, of this occupation in 2023, which is the base year of the 2023-33 employment projections.

Job Outlook, 2023-33

The projected percent change in employment from 2023 to 2033. The average growth rate for all occupations is 4 percent.

Employment Change, 2023-33

The projected numeric change in employment from 2023 to 2033.

Entry-level Education

Typical level of education that most workers need to enter this occupation.

On-the-job Training

Additional training needed (postemployment) to attain competency in the skills needed in this occupation.

Employment Change, projected 2023-33

The projected numeric change in employment from 2023 to 2033.

Growth Rate (Projected)

The percent change of employment for each occupation from 2023 to 2033.

Projected Number of New Jobs

The projected numeric change in employment from 2023 to 2033.

Projected Growth Rate

The projected percent change in employment from 2023 to 2033.

2023 Median Pay

The wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Median wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. In May 2023, the median annual wage for all workers was $48,060.