Changing shape

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.

AI Resistance Index 3 of 99

Among the careers AI is changing fastest: more resilient than 3% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by -15.8% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on emotional intelligence.

AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.

Median pay (2025): $43,600
Job growth to 2035: -15.8%
Openings a year: 5,600
People doing it (2025): 76,200
Usual route in: High school diploma, then short on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

Perform administrative or clerical activities
Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
Compile records, documentation, or other data

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Stock supplies or products
Sort materials or products
Maintain operational records

What the work looks like

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.
Input data, such as file numbers, new or updated information, or document information codes into computer systems to support document and information retrieval.
Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
Complete general financial activities, such as processing accounts payable, reviewing invoices, collecting cash payments, or issuing receipts.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

Fewer of these jobs, as continued adoption of digital records permits other occupations to file and retrieve records on their own.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Cargo and freight agentsGrows with AI, Index 31, +6.2%
Legal secretaries and administrative assistantsChanging shape, Index 9, -5.2%
Demonstrators and product promotersChanging shape, Index 19, +0.2%
Library assistants, clericalChanging shape, Index 12, -6.4%

Also known as: Clerk, File Clerk, Office Assistant, Records Clerk, Claims Clerk, Clerk Typist, Documentation Specialist, Medical Records Clerk.

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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.