# Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks

> Compile and record employee time and payroll data. May compute employees' time worked, production, and commission. May compute and post wages and deductions, or prepare paychecks.

- **SOC code:** 43-3051.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-3051-00
- **Also known as:** Payroll Assistant, Payroll Clerk, Payroll Coordinator, Payroll Specialist, Payroll Representative, Payroll Technician, Personnel Assistant, Personnel Technician
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
- Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
- Prepare and file payroll tax returns.
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
- Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
- Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.
- Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.
- Distribute and collect timecards each pay period.
- Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records.
- Issue and record adjustments to pay related to previous errors or retroactive increases.
- Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits accounts, and submit them to appropriate departments.
- Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Administrative _(knowledge)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Economics and Accounting _(knowledge)_
- Personnel and Human Resources _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Administration and Management _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Kronos Workforce Timekeeper _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Workday software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Intuit QuickBooks _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Oracle PeopleSoft _(hot technology)_
- SAP software _(hot technology)_
- ADP Workforce Now _(in demand)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 89th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 84th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 95th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 73rd percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 94th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -16.7% growth (Declining); 13k annual openings; 161.1k → 134.2k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $55,290; 156,950 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 41% automation, 53% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.5 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** directive.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, benefit plans, and collective agreement provisions. _(1.0% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers. _(0.5% of measured AI use; directive)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, benefit plans, and collective agreement provisions.
- Help me compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-3051-00_