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Word Processors and Typists

Occupation · SOC 43-9022.00

Use word processor, computer, or typewriter to type letters, reports, forms, or other material from rough draft, corrected copy, or voice recording. May perform other clerical duties as assigned.

Also called: Clerk Typist · Keyboard Specialist · Typist · Word Processor · Clerk Specialist · Office Technician · Stenographer · Account Clerk Typist · Addresser · Bordereau Clerk · Continuity Clerk · Court Stenographer

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-43-9022-00/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.

  • Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns. · 28.4%
  • File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update and delete documents. · 1.9%
  • Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing. · 1.5%
See how AI is used here →

Use as a copilot

Task areas where people work with AI — iterating, learning, or checking — staying in the loop rather than handing the task off.

  • Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. · 1.5%
See collaboration patterns →

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.

  • Type correspondence, reports, text and other written material from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings, dictation or previous versions, using a computer, word processor, or typewriter. · 100.0% need a human
  • Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. · 98.1% need a human
  • Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing. · 98.0% need a human
See the boundary tasks →

70th-percentile task overlap — yet about 2,200 openings a year (-36.1% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 3838% 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 62nd 0.6
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate 63rd 0.8
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) High 84th 0.3

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.7), with simple added tooling (β 0.7), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.8). 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 0.8 · 65th percentile among occupations · Moderate

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.

Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns. 27.8%
Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. 5.0%
Search for specific sets of stored, typed characters to make changes. 2.2%
Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required. 0.6%
Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing. 0.3%
Compute and verify totals on report forms, requisitions, or bills, using adding machine or calculator. 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 · -36.1% by 2034
Projected annual openings 2,200
Employment 2024 → 2034 40,000 → 25,600

“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.

65% mean task exposure (2025)
100th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−12 pts shift 2023 → 2025
International occupation (ISCO-08) Task exposure (2025) Most tasks fall in
Typists and Word Processing Operators · 4131 65% Gradient 4

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 38.4% working with AI · 57.8% 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) 59.9%

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
Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns. Directive 28.4%
File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update and delete documents. Directive 1.9%
Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. Iteration 1.5%
Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing. Directive 1.5%
Search for specific sets of stored, typed characters to make changes. Directive 1.0%
Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required. Directive 0.7%
Type correspondence, reports, text and other written material from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings, dictation or previous versions, using a computer, word processor, or typewriter. Directive 0.6%

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.

Type correspondence, reports, text and other written material from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings, dictation or previous versions, using a computer, word processor, or typewriter. 100.0%
Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. 98.1%
Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing. 98.0%
Search for specific sets of stored, typed characters to make changes. 97.1%
Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required. 97.0%
Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns. 95.9%

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 reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns.

    From: Reformat documents, moving paragraphs or columns. · 28.4% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me file and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update and delete documents.

    From: File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update and delete documents. · 1.9% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.

    From: Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. · 1.5% of measured AI use · task iteration

  • Help me use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing.

    From: Use data entry devices, such as optical scanners, to input data into computers for revision or editing. · 1.5% of measured AI use · directive

Tasks

All 20 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 4.8
English Language 4.3
Customer and Personal Service 4.2
Computers and Electronics 3.5
Law and Government 2.6
Administration and Management 2.4

Abilities

Near Vision 4.0
Written Comprehension 3.8
Speech Recognition 3.5
Oral Comprehension 3.4
Written Expression 3.3
Oral Expression 3.1
Information Ordering 3.1
Wrist-Finger Speed 3.1
Deductive Reasoning 3.0
Category Flexibility 3.0
Perceptual Speed 3.0
Finger Dexterity 3.0
Speech Clarity 3.0
Problem Sensitivity 2.9
Selective Attention 2.9
Inductive Reasoning 2.6
Flexibility of Closure 2.5
Visualization 2.5
Mathematical Reasoning 2.4
Far Vision 2.4

Essential skills

Reading Comprehension 3.5
Active Listening 3.3
Writing 3.3
Speaking 3.0
Monitoring 3.0
Critical Thinking 2.8
Mathematics 2.6
Active Learning 2.3

Transferable skills

Time Management 3.0
Service Orientation 2.9
Social Perceptiveness 2.6
Coordination 2.6
Judgment and Decision Making 2.5
Quality Control Analysis 2.4

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 45.

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
Adobe Acrobat Document management software Hot technology
Google Workspace software Office suite 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 Visio Process mapping and design software Hot technology
Microsoft Word Word processing software Hot technology
Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise resource planning ERP software Hot technology
SAP software Enterprise resource planning ERP software Hot technology
Act! Customer relationship management CRM software
Blackbaud CRM Customer relationship management CRM software
Corel WordPerfect Office Suite Office suite software
FileMaker Pro Data base user interface and query software
IBM Notes Electronic mail software
Microsoft Publisher Desktop publishing software
Oracle Siebel CRM Customer relationship management CRM software
SRSsoft SRS EHR Medical 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
Spend Time Sitting 4.9
E-Mail 4.9
Contact With Others 4.7
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.7
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 4.6
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.6
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 4.5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 4.3
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions 4.2
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 4.1
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.0
Time Pressure 4.0
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 3.7
Written Letters and Memos 3.7
Freedom to Make Decisions 3.7
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 3.5
Conflict Situations 3.0
Level of Competition 2.9
Physical Proximity 2.9
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 2.8
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 2.7
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 2.6
Frequency of Decision Making 2.6
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 2.5
Health and Safety of Other Workers 2.5
Degree of Automation 2.3
Consequence of Error 2.2
Exposed to Contaminants 2.1
Spend Time Walking or Running 2.0
Dealing with Violent or Physically Aggressive People 1.9
Exposed to Disease or Infections 1.9
Spend Time Standing 1.8
Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body 1.6
Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures 1.5
Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment 1.5
Exposed to Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting Conditions 1.5
Spend Time Kneeling, Crouching, Stooping, or Crawling 1.4
Exposed to Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions 1.4
Public Speaking 1.3

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 , Computer and Information Sciences and 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.

High School Diploma 49.6%
Some College Courses 45.5%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) 3.0%
Less than a High School Diploma 2.0%

Interests & work styles

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

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Conventional 6.6
Realistic 2.9
Artistic 2.3
Social 2.2
Investigative 1.9
Enterprising 1.9

Interest areas

Office Work 6.5
Information Technology 2.4
Accounting 2.3
Human Resources 1.5
Personal Service 1.4
Management/Administration 1.4
Media 1.3

Work styles

Attention to Detail 2.8
Dependability 2.4
Integrity 1.3

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

$35k10th$40k25th$48kMedian$56k75th$64k90th
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.
40k202426k2034 (proj.)-36.1% · Declining
Projected U.S. employment, 2024–2034 (BLS Employment Projections). A labor-market forecast for the occupation, not an AI-impact forecast.
10th percentile $35,300
25th percentile $39,740
Median (50th) $47,850
75th percentile $56,000
90th percentile $64,370
People employed 36,030

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
Educational Services · Sector 12,710 $47,310
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 2,270
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 1,820 $51,700
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 1,480 $49,480
Finance and Insurance · Sector 590 $47,160
Information · Sector 500 $35,350
Engineering Services · National industry 180 $52,550
Newspaper Publishers · National industry 140 $25,100
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing · Sector 130 $43,930
Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector 80 $40,950
Wholesale Trade · Sector 70 $44,440
Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector 70 $41,780

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
Newspaper Publishers · National industry 6.61× 140
Educational Services · Sector 3.99× 12,710
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 1.08× 2,270
Information · Sector 0.74× 500
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 0.72× 1,820
Engineering Services · National industry 0.67× 180
Finance and Insurance · Sector 0.41× 590
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 0.27× 1,480

Part of the Management & Entrepreneurship career cluster.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay Word Processors and Typists sits at the 70th percentile of AI task-overlap and the 28th 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 Word Processors and Typists Office Machine Operators, Except Computer Medical Transcriptionists File Clerks Office Clerks, General Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks 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 Word Processors and Typists — 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.

Zoom out

On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 100th percentile of 427 international occupations.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

Word Processors and Typists show 70th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,200 annual U.S. openings

  • Word Processors and Typists rank in the 70th 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 2,200 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 (-36.1%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • Median annual pay is $47,850, across about 36,030 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
  • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 38% 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
Word Processors and Typists show 70th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,200 annual U.S. openings

• Word Processors and Typists rank in the 70th 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 2,200 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 (-36.1%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• Median annual pay is $47,850, across about 36,030 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024))
• Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 38% 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 — "Word Processors and Typists". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-9022-00
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. "Word Processors and Typists." 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-43-9022-00

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Word Processors and Typists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-9022-00

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-43-9022-00,
  title  = {Word Processors and Typists},
  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-43-9022-00}
}

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

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