File Clerks

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$43,600

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$36,420 – $51,770

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

73,440

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-15.8%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

5,600

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

File correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Locate and remove material from file when requested.

Main tasks

• Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials.
• Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports.
• Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
• Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users.
• Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
• Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.
• Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
• Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: short-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Data Entry Keyers

  $41,340 median · -25.5% projected

• Medical Records Specialists

  $51,140 median · +7.8% projected

• Office Clerks, General

  $45,010 median · -6% projected

• Correspondence Clerks

  $46,800 median · -5.6% projected

• Word Processors and Typists

  $49,280 median · -34.4% projected

• Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

  $50,670 median · -5.6% projected