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File Clerks

Occupation · SOC 43-4071.00

File correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Locate and remove material from file when requested.

Also called: Clerk · File Clerk · Office Assistant · Records Clerk · Claims Clerk · Clerk Typist · Documentation Specialist · Medical Records Clerk · Police Records Clerk · Records Custodian · Admissions Clerk · Blueprint Clerk

Job family: Office and Administrative Support Occupations

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Download .md

A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch /roles/role-43-4071-00/context.md directly.

AI work map

A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.

Often handed to AI

Task areas most often handled directively in observed AI conversations — candidates to delegate with light review.

  • Answer questions about records or files. · 1.3%
See how AI is used here →

Keep a human in the loop

Task areas where a human was still judged necessary in a large share of observed conversations — not a safety ruling, an observed-need signal.

  • Answer questions about records or files. · 94.0% need a human
See the boundary tasks →

73rd-percentile task overlap — yet about 7,300 openings a year (-15.9% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 2030% copilot, not hand-off (AEI) . What exposure means →

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

Measure Rank vs all occupations Percentile Score
Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate 56th 0.3
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) High 80th 0.9
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) High 80th 0.3

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.7), with simple added tooling (β 0.8), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.9). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

Most of this job's tasks can be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman), which tends to track with higher digital and AI exposure.

Historical automation estimate (2013)

A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.

Frey–Osborne probability 1.0 · 94th percentile among occupations · High

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Answer questions about records or files. 7.4%
Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed. 0.5%
Design forms related to filing systems. 0.2%

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

Outlook Declining · -15.9% by 2034
Projected annual openings 7,300
Employment 2024 → 2034 84,300 → 70,900

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient

The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.

37% mean task exposure (2025)
69th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−7 pts shift 2023 → 2025
International occupation (ISCO-08) Task exposure (2025) Most tasks fall in
Filing and Copying Clerks · 4415 37% Gradient 1

Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.

Working with AI in this job

How people actually apply AI to this occupation's tasks, from Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations in the Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15. This is one AI assistant's consumer sample — not all AI, not the whole workforce. Autonomy and the collaboration mix are model-rated estimates; figures below the sample floor are hidden.

Augmentation vs. automation 20.3% working with AI · 48.9% handed to AI
Most common way people use AI here Directive · AI does it; you give the instruction
Typical AI autonomy 3.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently
Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) 23.3%

What people delegate to AI

The role's most common tasks in AI conversations, each tagged with how people work with the AI on it. “Usage” is the share of observed conversations, not of the job.

Task How Usage
Answer questions about records or files. Directive 1.3%

Where a human is still needed

Tasks where the model most often judged that a person remained necessary — a useful read on the current boundary, not a guarantee.

Answer questions about records or files. 94.0%

What people most often hand AI here

Example prompts phrased from the tasks people most often delegate to AI in this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index). Each shows the underlying measured task and its share of observed AI use. They are suggested phrasings of real tasks — starting points, not endorsed instructions.

  • Help me answer questions about records or files.

    From: Answer questions about records or files. · 1.3% of measured AI use · directive

Tasks

All 19 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

Work activities

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

Administrative 4.5
English Language 4.3
Customer and Personal Service 4.2
Law and Government 3.4
Computers and Electronics 3.3
Telecommunications 3.3
Mathematics 3.2
Public Safety and Security 3.1
Administration and Management 2.9

Abilities

Information Ordering 4.3
Written Comprehension 4.1
Category Flexibility 4.0
Near Vision 4.0
Oral Comprehension 3.9
Oral Expression 3.8
Written Expression 3.5
Perceptual Speed 3.4
Selective Attention 3.4
Speech Clarity 3.3
Deductive Reasoning 3.1
Speech Recognition 3.1
Fluency of Ideas 3.0
Problem Sensitivity 3.0
Inductive Reasoning 3.0
Flexibility of Closure 3.0
Originality 2.9
Far Vision 2.9

Essential skills

Reading Comprehension 3.9
Active Listening 3.4
Speaking 3.3
Writing 3.1
Monitoring 3.1
Critical Thinking 3.0
Active Learning 2.9

Transferable skills

Service Orientation 3.1
Social Perceptiveness 3.0
Time Management 3.0
Coordination 2.9
Complex Problem Solving 2.9
Judgment and Decision Making 2.8

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

Showing the top 40 of 43.

Tools & technology

Example Category
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft Office software Office suite software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft Outlook Electronic mail software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft Word Word processing software Hot technology In demand
Adobe Acrobat Document management software Hot technology
Intuit QuickBooks Accounting software Hot technology
Microsoft Access Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation software Hot technology
Microsoft SharePoint Document management software Hot technology
Microsoft Windows Operating system software Hot technology
Electronic filing software Filesystem software
Electronic health record EHR software Medical software
Email software Electronic mail software
Optical scanning software Optical character reader OCR or scanning software

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

Telephone Conversations 5.0
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.8
Contact With Others 4.7
E-Mail 4.2
Spend Time Sitting 4.2
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.2
Time Pressure 4.2
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.1
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 4.1
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 4.0
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 3.9
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 3.8
Freedom to Make Decisions 3.4
Written Letters and Memos 3.4
Frequency of Decision Making 3.2
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 3.2
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions 3.1
Physical Proximity 3.0
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 2.9
Consequence of Error 2.9
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 2.9
Conflict Situations 2.9
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 2.6
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 2.6
Spend Time Walking or Running 2.5
Health and Safety of Other Workers 2.5
Spend Time Standing 2.4
Degree of Automation 2.0
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 2.0
Level of Competition 1.9
Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment 1.8
Spend Time Kneeling, Crouching, Stooping, or Crawling 1.8
Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body 1.8
Public Speaking 1.7
Exposed to Disease or Infections 1.6
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets 1.5
Exposed to Contaminants 1.4
Dealing with Violent or Physically Aggressive People 1.4
Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings 1.2
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled 1.2

How to get in

Job zone
Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Typical entry-level education
High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
Related experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Preparation level
SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) 38.4%
High School Diploma 30.1%
Some College Courses 23.2%
Bachelor's Degree 8.3%

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Conventional 7.0
Realistic 2.4
Social 2.0
Enterprising 1.8

Interest areas

Office Work 6.7
Law 2.0
Accounting 1.8
Human Resources 1.7
Health Care Service 1.6
Information Technology 1.5
Finance 1.4
Management/Administration 1.4
Personal Service 1.3

Work styles

Attention to Detail 2.5
Dependability 2.3
Integrity 1.7

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

$30k10th$35k25th$41kMedian$50k75th$61k90th
Annual wages by percentile — U.S. (BLS OEWS). The light band spans the 10th–90th percentile; the darker band is the middle half (25th–75th); the line is the median.
84k202471k2034 (proj.)-15.9% · Declining
Projected U.S. employment, 2024–2034 (BLS Employment Projections). A labor-market forecast for the occupation, not an AI-impact forecast.
10th percentile $29,620
25th percentile $35,120
Median (50th) $41,270
75th percentile $50,020
90th percentile $61,080
People employed 78,980

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Industry Workers National median pay
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 14,770 $40,990
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 8,360 $37,940
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 7,070 $38,030
Educational Services · Sector 6,430 $45,230
Finance and Insurance · Sector 6,050 $41,130
Retail Trade · Sector 3,940 $36,260
Manufacturing · Sector 2,870 $46,980
Temporary Help Services · National industry 2,480 $38,000
Transportation and Warehousing · Sector 2,300 $38,440
Wholesale Trade · Sector 2,290 $43,830
Information · Sector 2,220 $38,390
Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector 2,170 $41,420

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Industry Concentration Workers
Offices of Chiropractors · National industry 3.21× 240
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 2.68× 14,770
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages · National industry 2.5× 1,270
Offices of Optometrists · National industry 1.92× 150
Finance and Insurance · Sector 1.9× 6,050
Temporary Help Services · National industry 1.83× 2,480
Testing Laboratories and Services · National industry 1.6× 140
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 1.53× 7,070

Part of the Public Service & Safety career cluster.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay File Clerks sits at the 73rd percentile of AI task-overlap and the 15th percentile of median pay, placed here against 12 adjacent occupations on the same two axes. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay File Clerks Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators Administrative Services Managers Word Processors and Typists Office Clerks, General Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks Correspondence Clerks Statistical Assistants Document Management Specialists AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
AI task-overlap percentile (horizontal) vs. median-pay percentile (vertical), across all scored occupations. This occupation is highlighted; related occupations are plotted alongside it. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation.

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for File Clerks — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Skills that travel

Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.

Adjacent roles

Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.

Paths in

How people typically prepare for this work.

Zoom out

On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 69th percentile of 427 international occupations.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

File Clerks show 73rd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 7,300 annual U.S. openings

  • File Clerks rank in the 73rd percentile (High band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
  • The occupation is projected to see about 7,300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • BLS projects employment to be declining (-15.9%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • Median annual pay is $41,270, across about 78,980 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
  • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 20% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census.2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2
Copy the whole kit
File Clerks show 73rd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 7,300 annual U.S. openings

• File Clerks rank in the 73rd percentile (High band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE)
• The occupation is projected to see about 7,300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• BLS projects employment to be declining (-15.9%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• Median annual pay is $41,270, across about 78,980 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024))
• Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 20% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census. (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2)

Source: Singulariki — "File Clerks". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-4071-00
Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom

Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "File Clerks." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-4071-00

APA

Singulariki. (2026). File Clerks. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-4071-00

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-role-43-4071-00,
  title  = {File Clerks},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-4071-00}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.

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