General Office Clerks
Career, Salary and Education Information
What They 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. Some work part time.
How to Become One: General office clerks typically need a high school diploma or equivalent. Most learn their skills on the job.
Salary: The median hourly wage for general office clerks is $17.81.
Job Outlook: Employment of general office clerks is projected to decline 5 percent over the next ten years.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of general office clerks with similar occupations.
Following is everything you need to know about a career as an office clerk with lots of details. As a first step, take a look at some of the following jobs, which are real jobs with real employers. You will be able to see the very real job career requirements for employers who are actively hiring. The link will open in a new tab so that you can come back to this page to continue reading about the career:
Top 3 General Office Clerk Jobs
-
Graduate Admissions Administrative Specialist
- George Mason University
- Arlington,VA
Graduate Admissions Administrative Specialist 10002594 Arlington,...
-
Supplier Manager - Custom Networks
- Lumen
- Washington,DC
About Lumen Lumen connects the world. We are igniting business growth by connecting people, data and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Together, we are building a culture and company from the people up...
-
Strategic Communications Officer Level 4
- V2X
- Springfield,VA
Overview Working across the globe, V2X builds smart solutions designed to integrate physical and digital infrastructure from base to battlefield. We bring 120 years of successful mission support to improve security, streamline logistics, and...
What General Office Clerks Do[About this section] [To Top]
General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records.
Duties of General Office Clerks
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 for General Office Clerks[About this section] [To Top]
General office clerks hold about 2.8 million jobs. The largest employers of general office clerks are as follows:
| Healthcare and social assistance | 11% |
| Educational services; state, local, and private | 11% |
| Government | 10% |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 8% |
| Administrative and support services | 8% |
General office clerks usually work in office settings.
General Office Clerk Work Schedules
Most general office clerks work full time.
How to Become a General Office Clerk[About this section] [To Top]
Get the education you need: Find schools for General Office Clerks near you!
General office clerks typically need a high school diploma or equivalent and learn their skills on the job.
Education for General Office Clerks
General office clerks usually need a high school diploma or equivalent.
Courses in using computer applications, such as word processing and spreadsheet software, may be helpful for those who aren't already familiar with them.
General Office Clerk Training
General office clerks usually learn their skills while on the job. Their training typically lasts up to one month and may include instructions on office procedures, proper phone etiquette, and the use of office equipment.
Advancement for General Office Clerks
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 for General Office Clerks
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.
General Office Clerk Salaries[About this section] [More salary/earnings info] [To Top]
The median hourly wage for general office clerks is $17.81. 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 $11.30, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $28.31.
The median hourly wages for general office clerks in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Government | $18.23 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | $17.91 |
| Healthcare and social assistance | $17.74 |
| Educational services; state, local, and private | $17.44 |
| Administrative and support services | $17.24 |
Most general office clerks work full time.
Job Outlook for General Office Clerks[About this section] [To Top]
Employment of general office clerks is projected to decline 5 percent over the next ten years.
Despite declining employment, about 325,400 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 of General Office Clerks
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.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Office clerks, general | 2,751,800 | 2,621,100 | -5 | -130,800 |
*Some content used by permission of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.