office clerk
Key facts
Are you organized, detail-oriented, and enjoy supporting a team? As an office clerk, you'll be the backbone of office operations, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently.
Office clerks play a vital role in maintaining a productive office environment. You’ll be involved in a wide range of administrative tasks, providing essential support to administrative staff, secretaries, and assistants. This role is ideal for individuals who thrive in a structured setting and enjoy contributing to a team’s success.
- • Sorting and distributing mail and deliveries.
- • Filing and organizing documents, both physical and digital.
- • Answering phones, directing calls, and taking messages.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Deeper colour: reported the same way in more consecutive years.
Figures cover General and keyboard clerks — 5 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Finland, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia.
Longest-running shortage: Malta, 3 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
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Could office clerk fit you?
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Future Outlook for office clerk
The outlook for office clerk reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could office clerk change as AI adoption grows?
Several task areas may shift toward AI-assisted workflows, so reskilling becomes more important.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How could office clerk change as AI adoption grows?
Several task areas may shift toward AI-assisted workflows, so reskilling becomes more important.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- process commissioned instructions
- communicate with customers
- disseminate internal communications
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- route correspondence to business departments
- handle delivered packages
Tasks most exposed to automation
- fill out forms
- process data
- maintain correspondence records
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Management & Entrepreneurship
A typical day as a office clerk
09 09:00 · Morning facilitate access to information
10 10:30 · Mid-morning route correspondence to business departments
12 12:00 · Midday handle mail
14 14:00 · Afternoon align content with form
15 15:30 · Late afternoon apply grammar and spelling rules
17 17:00 · Wrap-up file documents
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
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company policies
The set of rules that govern the activity of a company.
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information confidentiality
The mechanisms and regulations which allow for selective access control and guarantee that only authorised parties (people, processes, systems and devices) have access to data, the way to comply with confidential information and the risks of non-compliance.
- accounting techniques
- document sharing procedures
- transcription methods
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organise business documents
Put together documents coming from the photocopier, the mail, or the daily operations of businesses.
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use office systems
Make appropriate and timely use of office systems used in business facilities depending on the aim, whether for the collection of messages, client information storage, or agenda scheduling. It includes administration of systems such as customer relationship management, vendor management, storage, and voicemail systems.
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handle mail
Handle mail considering data protection issues, health and safety requirements, and specifications of different kinds of mail.
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perform office routine activities
Program, prepare, and perform activities required to be performed everyday in offices such as mailing, receiving supplies, updating managers and employees, and keeping operations running smoothly.
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disseminate messages to people
Receive, process, and pass messages to people coming from phone calls, faxes, postal, and emails.
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prepare correspondence for customers
Draught, prepare and issue correspondence to customers informing about pending bills, merchandising communication, apology letters, or greeting mails.
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use spreadsheets software
Use software tools to create and edit tabular data to carry out mathematical calculations, organise data and information, create diagrams based on data and to retrieve them.
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manage digital documents
Manage various data formats and files by naming, publishing, transforming and sharing files and documents and transforming file formats.
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disseminate internal communications
Disseminate internal communications using the different communication channels that a company has at its disposal.
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use different communication channels
Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.
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file documents
Create a filing system. Write a document catalogue. Label documents etc.
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facilitate access to information
Prepare documents for archiving; ensure that the information can easily be accessed at all times.
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fill out forms
Fill out forms of a different nature with accurate information, legible calligraphy, and within a timely manner.
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process data
Enter information into a data storage and data retrieval system via processes such as scanning, manual keying or electronic data transfer in order to process large amounts of data.
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communicate with customers
Respond to and communicate with customers in the most efficient and appropriate manner to enable them to access the desired products or services, or any other help they may require.
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align content with form
Align form and content to make sure they fit together.
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process commissioned instructions
Process instructions, usually oral ones, provided by managers and directives on actions required to be made. Take note, inquire, and take action on the commissioned requests.
Skill DNA
Work personality traits and values that define this role
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Where does office clerk fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
Frequently asked questions
- What skills are most important for an office clerk?
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, excellent communication (both written and verbal), and proficiency in basic computer applications (like word processing and spreadsheets) are crucial. Adaptability and the ability to prioritize tasks are also highly valued.
- Is this a good career for someone looking to change careers?
- Absolutely! The skills you develop as an office clerk are transferable to many other administrative roles. It’s a great entry point into office environments and can provide a solid foundation for career advancement.
- What is the typical work arrangement for an office clerk?
- This occupation is primarily an employment-based role. You’ll typically work as an employee within a company or organization, contributing to their daily operations.
- Office Clerk — is there a shortage in Europe?
- No. In the 2025 ELA/EURES edition, a surplus was reported in 12 of the 16 European countries that assessed this occupation group: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus and 8 more. 4 countries reported a shortage. These assessments are published per occupation group rather than per job title.
- Office Clerk — what does it pay in the United States?
- $43,630 a year at the median, as of 2025-05. State medians run from $23,860 to $55,040. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a United States figure and not a projection for Europe.