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Office Clerks, General

Occupation · SOC 43-9061.00

Perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring knowledge of office systems and procedures. Clerical duties may be assigned in accordance with the office procedures of individual establishments and may include a combination of answering telephones, bookkeeping, typing or word processing, office machine operation, and filing.

Also called: Clerk · Office Assistant · Office Clerk · Office Services Specialist · Administrative Clerk (Admin Clerk) · Clerical Aide · Clerical Assistant · General Clerk · Office Support Assistant · Administration Clerk · Administrative Support Specialist · Administrative Technician (Admin Tech)

Job family: Office and Administrative Support Occupations

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A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch /roles/role-43-9061-00/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.

  • Troubleshoot problems involving office equipment, such as computer hardware and software. · 113.6%
  • Process and prepare documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports. · 4.5%
  • Complete work schedules, manage calendars, and arrange appointments. · 2.7%
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.

  • Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers. · 2.0%
  • Prepare meeting agendas, attend meetings, and record and transcribe minutes. · 1.1%
  • Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints. · 0.7%
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.

  • Complete work schedules, manage calendars, and arrange appointments. · 100.0% need a human
  • Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers. · 99.5% need a human
  • Prepare meeting agendas, attend meetings, and record and transcribe minutes. · 99.1% need a human
See the boundary tasks →

73rd-percentile task overlap — yet about 282,400 openings a year (-6.7% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 3653% 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.) High 73rd 1.0
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate 64th 0.8
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) High 78th 0.2

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.4), with simple added tooling (β 0.6), 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 1.0 · 91st 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.

Troubleshoot problems involving office equipment, such as computer hardware and software. 65.5%
Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints. 4.7%
Process and prepare documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports. 3.8%
Answer telephones, direct calls, and take messages. 2.6%
Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers. 2.3%
Review files, records, and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests. 2.1%

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 · -6.7% by 2034
Projected annual openings 282,400
Employment 2024 → 2034 2,646,000 → 2,468,200

“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.

60% mean task exposure (2025)
97th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−9 pts shift 2023 → 2025
International occupation (ISCO-08) Task exposure (2025) Most tasks fall in
General Office Clerks · 4110 60% 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 36.5% working with AI · 58.8% handed to AI
Most common way people use AI here Feedback loop · AI does it, then adjusts from your feedback
Typical AI autonomy 3.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently
Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) 37.3%

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
Troubleshoot problems involving office equipment, such as computer hardware and software. Feedback loop 113.6%
Process and prepare documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports. Directive 4.5%
Complete work schedules, manage calendars, and arrange appointments. Directive 2.7%
Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers. Learning 2.0%
Prepare meeting agendas, attend meetings, and record and transcribe minutes. Iteration 1.1%
Answer telephones, direct calls, and take messages. none 1.0%
Review files, records, and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests. Directive 0.9%
Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints. Iteration 0.7%

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.

Complete work schedules, manage calendars, and arrange appointments. 100.0%
Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers. 99.5%
Prepare meeting agendas, attend meetings, and record and transcribe minutes. 99.1%
Answer telephones, direct calls, and take messages. 99.0%
Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints. 98.6%
Process and prepare documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports. 98.0%

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 troubleshoot problems involving office equipment, such as computer hardware and software.

    From: Troubleshoot problems involving office equipment, such as computer hardware and software. · 113.6% of measured AI use · feedback loop

  • Help me process and prepare documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports.

    From: Process and prepare documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports. · 4.5% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me complete work schedules, manage calendars, and arrange appointments.

    From: Complete work schedules, manage calendars, and arrange appointments. · 2.7% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers.

    From: Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers. · 2.0% of measured AI use · learning

Tasks

All 21 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 4.2
English Language 3.8
Customer and Personal Service 3.4
Administration and Management 3.0
Computers and Electronics 2.9
Mathematics 2.7

Abilities

Oral Expression 3.9
Oral Comprehension 3.8
Written Comprehension 3.8
Written Expression 3.6
Near Vision 3.4
Speech Recognition 3.4
Speech Clarity 3.4
Problem Sensitivity 3.1
Information Ordering 3.1
Deductive Reasoning 3.0
Inductive Reasoning 3.0
Category Flexibility 3.0
Selective Attention 3.0
Time Sharing 2.9
Fluency of Ideas 2.8
Mathematical Reasoning 2.8
Far Vision 2.8
Number Facility 2.6

Essential skills

Reading Comprehension 3.8
Active Listening 3.8
Speaking 3.6
Writing 3.1
Critical Thinking 3.0
Monitoring 2.9
Active Learning 2.8

Transferable skills

Social Perceptiveness 3.0
Coordination 3.0
Service Orientation 3.0
Time Management 3.0
Instructing 2.8
Judgment and Decision Making 2.8
Persuasion 2.6
Negotiation 2.6
Complex Problem Solving 2.6

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 57.

Tools & technology

Example Category
Google Workspace software Office suite software Hot technology In demand
Intuit QuickBooks Accounting software Hot technology In demand
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 PowerPoint Presentation software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft Word Word processing software Hot technology In demand
Adobe Acrobat Document management software Hot technology
Adobe InDesign Desktop publishing software Hot technology
Facebook Web page creation and editing software Hot technology
Google Docs Word processing software Hot technology
Henry Schein Dentrix Medical software Hot technology
MEDITECH software Medical software Hot technology
Microsoft Access Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
Microsoft Project Project management software Hot technology
Microsoft SharePoint Document management software Hot technology
Microsoft Windows Operating system software Hot technology
Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise resource planning ERP software Hot technology
SAP software Enterprise resource planning ERP software Hot technology
Yardi software Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
3M Post-it App Word processing software
ADP Workforce Now Human resources software
Alpha Software Alpha Five Data base user interface and query software
Appointment scheduling software Calendar and scheduling software
Billing software Billing and invoicing software
Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge Customer relationship management CRM software
Blackboard software Data base user interface and query software
Bookkeeping software Accounting software
Data entry software Data base user interface and query software
Database software Data base user interface and query software
Dropbox Cloud-based data access and sharing software
Electronic Data Interchange EDI systems Enterprise application integration software
Evernote Word processing software
FileMaker Pro Data base user interface and query software
Filing system software Document management software
Google Drive Cloud-based data access and sharing software
Google Sites Web page creation and editing software
GroupMe Instant messaging software
IBM Check Processing Control System CPSC Data base user interface and query software
IBM Notes Electronic mail software

Showing the top 40 of 59.

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 4.9
E-Mail 4.8
Contact With Others 4.7
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 4.7
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.6
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.6
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.5
Spend Time Sitting 4.4
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 4.3
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 4.2
Time Pressure 3.8
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 3.8
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 3.7
Written Letters and Memos 3.7
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions 3.6
Physical Proximity 3.6
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 3.4
Freedom to Make Decisions 3.3
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 3.1
Frequency of Decision Making 3.1
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 3.0
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 2.9
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 2.7
Conflict Situations 2.7
Health and Safety of Other Workers 2.5
Consequence of Error 2.4
Exposed to Contaminants 2.2
Spend Time Standing 2.2
Spend Time Walking or Running 2.2
Exposed to Disease or Infections 2.1
Degree of Automation 2.1
Level of Competition 2.1
Public Speaking 1.8
Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body 1.8
Dealing with Violent or Physically Aggressive People 1.6
Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment 1.4
Exposed to Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions 1.4
Exposed to Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting Conditions 1.4
Spend Time Kneeling, Crouching, Stooping, or Crawling 1.4
Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures 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 . 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 40.6%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) 36.4%
Some College Courses 14.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate 6.5%
Less than a High School Diploma 1.5%
Bachelor's Degree 0.2%

Interests & work styles

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

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Conventional 6.8
Enterprising 3.2
Social 3.1
Realistic 2.9
Investigative 1.9

Interest areas

Office Work 6.8
Accounting 3.4
Personal Service 2.2
Human Resources 2.1
Management/Administration 1.9
Health Care Service 1.7
Finance 1.6
Information Technology 1.6

Work styles

Dependability 2.4
Attention to Detail 2.1
Cooperation 1.6

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

$29k10th$35k25th$44kMedian$53k75th$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.
2.65M20242.47M2034 (proj.)-6.7% · Declining
Projected U.S. employment, 2024–2034 (BLS Employment Projections). A labor-market forecast for the occupation, not an AI-impact forecast.
10th percentile $29,120
25th percentile $35,350
Median (50th) $43,630
75th percentile $52,560
90th percentile $63,840
People employed 2,510,550

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 304,860 $39,330
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 289,710 $42,680
Construction · Sector 259,930 $45,840
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 206,480 $41,300
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 197,040 $44,300
Retail Trade · Sector 156,950 $38,240
Wholesale Trade · Sector 132,290 $44,610
Manufacturing · Sector 130,140 $46,000
Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector 121,170 $40,070
Finance and Insurance · Sector 112,260 $45,560
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing · Sector 100,870 $42,490
Transportation and Warehousing · Sector 85,930 $44,250

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 4.63× 11,000
Exterminating and Pest Control Services · National industry 4.48× 10,800
Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities · National industry 3.39× 3,360
Roofing Contractors · National industry 2.66× 10,750
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing · Sector 2.62× 100,870
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors · National industry 2.6× 53,720
Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations · National industry 2.22× 3,830
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors · National industry 2.04× 6,860

Part of the Management & Entrepreneurship career cluster.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay Office Clerks, General sits at the 73rd percentile of AI task-overlap and the 18th 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 Office Clerks, General Administrative Services Managers File Clerks Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service Billing and Posting Clerks First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks Management Analysts 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 Office Clerks, General — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

Office Clerks, General show 73rd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 282,400 annual U.S. openings

  • Office Clerks, General 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 282,400 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 (-6.7%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • Median annual pay is $43,630, across about 2,510,550 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
  • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 37% 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
Office Clerks, General show 73rd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 282,400 annual U.S. openings

• Office Clerks, General 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 282,400 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 (-6.7%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• Median annual pay is $43,630, across about 2,510,550 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024))
• Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 37% 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 — "Office Clerks, General". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-9061-00
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. "Office Clerks, General." 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-43-9061-00

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Office Clerks, General. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-9061-00

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-43-9061-00,
  title  = {Office Clerks, General},
  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-43-9061-00}
}

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

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