Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2007

43-9061 Office Clerks, General

Perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring limited knowledge of office management 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, stenography, office machine operation, and filing.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
2,980,350 0.4 % $12.48 $25,960 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.45 $9.17 $11.76 $14.96 $18.65
Annual Wage (2) $15,490 $19,070 $24,460 $31,110 $38,780

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Local Government (OES designation) 202,070 $13.77 $28,650
Employment Services 187,610 $11.63 $24,190
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 150,320 $12.53 $26,070
Elementary and Secondary Schools 118,050 $12.65 $26,300
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 104,660 $13.16 $27,380

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Postal Service 3,270 $21.77 $45,280
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing 2,210 $19.30 $40,130
Wired Telecommunications Carriers 7,590 $18.97 $39,470
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing 610 $18.79 $39,090
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil 140 $17.57 $36,550

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
West Virginia 25,040 $10.82 $22,500 3.511%
Virginia 125,600 $13.49 $28,050 3.446%
Missouri 89,260 $12.65 $26,320 3.266%
North Dakota 9,780 $10.26 $21,330 2.860%
Idaho 18,070 $11.66 $24,260 2.815%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
District of Columbia 13,430 $15.69 $32,630 2.163%
Alaska 7,570 $14.87 $30,930 2.507%
Connecticut 30,630 $14.66 $30,500 1.821%
Massachusetts 65,640 $14.45 $30,050 2.046%
Maryland 66,100 $14.23 $29,600 2.590%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
State College, PA 3,320 $13.60 $28,300 5.111%
Iowa City, IA 3,360 $14.05 $29,220 4.286%
Charleston, WV 5,800 $11.47 $23,850 4.016%
Columbia, MO 3,280 $11.53 $23,980 3.888%
Harrisonburg, VA 2,290 $12.23 $25,430 3.855%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 25,210 $16.16 $33,600 2.451%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 17,010 $15.74 $32,740 1.869%
Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division 2,200 $15.65 $32,560 1.868%
Framingham, MA NECTA Division 2,710 $15.62 $32,490 1.732%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 64,930 $15.51 $32,250 2.833%

About May 2007 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files (XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2007 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2007 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 3, 2008