Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

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)
2,857,300 0.7 % $11.32 $23,540 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.86 $8.48 $10.71 $13.55 $16.77
Annual Wage (2) $14,260 $17,630 $22,280 $28,190 $34,890

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Employment services 206,270 $10.39 $21,620 1 230
Local government (OES designation) 180,750 $12.31 $25,610 2 51
Colleges and universities 117,460 $11.08 $23,040 3 161
General medical and surgical hospitals 114,970 $11.48 $23,890 4 121
Elementary and secondary schools 114,490 $11.65 $24,220 5 102

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Wired telecommunications carriers 16,340 $16.95 $35,260 41 1
Power generation and supply 8,860 $16.69 $34,710 70 2
Natural gas distribution 2,350 $16.51 $34,340 168 3
Motor vehicle manufacturing 440 $16.26 $33,810 264 4
Telecommunications resellers 4,450 $15.92 $33,110 119 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Minnesota 75,730 $12.06 $25,080 2.910% 538
Delaware 11,600 $11.37 $23,650 2.890% 405
New York 234,930 $12.08 $25,130 2.834% 561
Florida 195,740 $10.31 $21,450 2.748% 574
Colorado 56,750 $12.18 $25,330 2.665% 499

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 7,190 $13.63 $28,350 2.509% 350
District of Columbia 11,790 $13.18 $27,420 1.981% 335
Massachusetts 60,910 $13.16 $27,380 1.903% 519
Connecticut 33,110 $12.86 $26,750 2.017% 471
Washington 56,600 $12.45 $25,900 2.208% 543

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

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

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Olympia, WA PMSA 3,610 $12.16 $25,300 4.236%
Springfield, IL MSA 4,480 $12.07 $25,100 4.018%
San Angelo, TX MSA 1,790 $10.03 $20,870 3.987%
Gainesville, FL MSA 4,860 $11.10 $23,080 3.981%
Columbia, MO MSA 2,990 $10.63 $22,110 3.868%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Lowell, MA-NH PMSA 2,040 $14.01 $29,140 1.633%
Anchorage, AK MSA 3,630 $14.01 $29,140 2.648%
San Jose, CA PMSA 17,800 $13.99 $29,090 1.993%
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 4,140 $13.90 $28,900 2.071%
Oakland, CA PMSA 24,760 $13.77 $28,630 2.469%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan 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) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for 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.

All Office and Administrative Support Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003