File clerks
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.
File clerks 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. The role reports a median annual salary of $41,270 in the US and is projected to decline by 16% over the next decade. Entry typically requires a High school diploma or equivalent, and shows high AI exposure (0.82 on a 0-1 scale) — significant portions of core tasks are already being automated. The most in-demand skills for the role include information confidentiality, digitization, respect data protection principles, perform records management, ensure information transparency.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £26,631 a year for Elementary administration occupations n.e.c. (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £23,294 to £30,708 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 9219). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Clerical support workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only File clerks, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 4. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Administrative
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Law and Government
- Computers and Electronics
- Telecommunications
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
What you'd actually do
- 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.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does File clerks do?
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.
How much does File clerks earn?
The median annual salary for File clerks in the US is $41,270.
What is the job outlook for File clerks?
The role is projected to decline by 16% over the next decade. Current US employment is approximately 84,300 workers.
How do I become file clerks?
The typical entry education is a High school diploma or equivalent. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.
What skills does File clerks need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include information confidentiality, digitization, respect data protection principles, perform records management, ensure information transparency, file documents. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace File clerks?
Our AI-durability model gives File clerks a score of 0.82 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at high AI risk — many core tasks are already being automated by generative AI and workflow tools. Focus on AI-adjacent skills or plan a pivot to an AI-durable adjacent role.
How hard is it to enter this field?
File clerks has low barrier to entry — generally accessible — you can enter with basic credentials and on-the-job learning.