Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

43-4021 Correspondence Clerks

Compose letters in reply to requests for merchandise, damage claims, credit and other information, delinquent accounts, incorrect billings, or unsatisfactory services. Duties may include gathering data to formulate reply and typing correspondence.

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)
27,460 4.3 % $13.49 $28,050 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.26 $10.68 $12.88 $15.82 $18.95
Annual Wage (2) $19,260 $22,200 $26,790 $32,910 $39,420

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
Insurance carriers 5,270 $14.07 $29,260 1 27
Activities related to credit intermediation 1,910 $12.92 $26,870 2 49
Employment services 1,500 $11.68 $24,290 3 64
Nondepository credit intermediation 1,300 $12.82 $26,660 4 51
Management of companies and enterprises 1,150 $14.13 $29,380 5 25

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Chemical merchant wholesalers (6) $18.71 $38,920 (6) 1
Junior colleges 110 $17.55 $36,500 36 2
State government (OES designation) 50 $16.46 $34,230 53 3
Iron and steel mills and ferroalloy mfg. 70 $16.42 $34,150 48 4
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing 100 $16.40 $34,110 39 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
South Dakota 400 $10.93 $22,740 0.113% 357
Rhode Island 390 $14.52 $30,210 0.082% 342
Pennsylvania 2,700 $13.35 $27,760 0.049% 521
Oklahoma 640 $13.11 $27,260 0.045% 415
Nevada 380 $11.31 $23,530 0.036% 523

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 80 $18.86 $39,220 0.013% 261
Maryland 510 $16.73 $34,800 0.021% 378
New Jersey 1,100 $15.43 $32,090 0.028% 470
Indiana 650 $15.32 $31,860 0.023% 405
Washington 200 $15.05 $31,300 0.008% 507

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
Sioux Falls, SD MSA 210 $11.75 $24,450 0.187%
Tulsa, OK MSA 410 $13.73 $28,570 0.110%
Scranton—Wilkes-Barre—Hazleton, PA MSA 260 $11.30 $23,500 0.095%
Rapid City, SD MSA 40 $10.68 $22,220 0.083%
Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA MSA 400 $14.51 $30,190 0.077%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Richmond-Petersburg, VA MSA 100 $18.62 $38,730 0.018%
Tacoma, WA PMSA 30 $18.35 $38,170 0.013%
Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA 510 $17.79 $37,000 0.019%
Baltimore, MD PMSA 290 $17.12 $35,620 0.024%
Bergen-Passaic, NJ PMSA 90 $16.47 $34,260 0.014%

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.

(6) Estimates not released.

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