Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

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)
2,926,160 0.5 % $11.43 $23,780 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.87 $8.53 $10.80 $13.71 $16.96
Annual Wage (2) $14,290 $17,730 $22,450 $28,510 $35,280

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
Local government (OES designation) 194,840 $12.67 $26,360 1 43
Employment services 179,140 $10.51 $21,850 2 227
Colleges and universities 127,090 $11.32 $23,530 3 148
Elementary and secondary schools 115,570 $11.67 $24,270 4 111
General medical and surgical hospitals 114,680 $11.66 $24,260 5 115

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Wired telecommunications carriers 13,930 $17.21 $35,810 46 1
Natural gas distribution 2,340 $16.88 $35,110 170 2
Motor vehicle manufacturing 520 $16.73 $34,790 263 3
Power generation and supply 8,010 $16.23 $33,750 78 4
Computer and peripheral equipment mfg. 4,640 $16.20 $33,700 118 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 77,570 $12.12 $25,210 2.983% 584
Delaware 11,820 $11.38 $23,670 2.934% 420
New York 236,390 $12.24 $25,450 2.862% 610
Missouri 74,220 $10.99 $22,850 2.825% 572
California 398,400 $12.50 $26,010 2.745% 588

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 7,390 $13.88 $28,870 2.528% 384
Massachusetts 68,540 $13.39 $27,850 2.159% 558
Connecticut 32,310 $13.13 $27,300 1.970% 510
District of Columbia 13,100 $12.90 $26,820 2.203% 370
Washington 59,270 $12.60 $26,210 2.314% 595

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
Columbia, MO MSA 3,450 $10.51 $21,870 4.652%
Olympia, WA PMSA 3,790 $12.37 $25,740 4.473%
Sacramento, CA PMSA 30,110 $12.44 $25,870 4.029%
Lawrence, KS MSA 1,800 $10.15 $21,110 3.828%
Salem, OR PMSA 5,050 $12.42 $25,840 3.750%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Jose, CA PMSA 20,360 $14.30 $29,740 2.320%
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 4,340 $14.11 $29,350 2.168%
Anchorage, AK MSA 3,660 $14.07 $29,260 2.659%
Oakland, CA PMSA 26,910 $13.99 $29,100 2.646%
Boston, MA-NH PMSA 41,510 $13.75 $28,600 2.161%

About May 2003 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) 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.

All Office and Administrative Support Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004