Order clerks
SOC Code: 43-4151
Order clerks carries a 79% AI exposure score (Very High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $44,660 and -17.2% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 89,500 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 79% AI exposure, Order clerks sits 42 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - among the most AI-exposed occupations tracked. It is one of just 21 occupations above the 70% high-exposure line.
Career outlook score
9/100
Order clerks, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $44,660
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -17.2%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 79% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Order clerks in the Very High band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry on a declining BLS line
Typical entry is HS / some college (333/832) while growth is Declining (111/832). This is the crowded high-risk corner of the map - automation and headcount pressure compound without a degree moat.
Where Order clerks sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Order clerks sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
79% Higher than most higher than 99% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Order clerks vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Order clerks is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Order clerks's Very High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score above 70% signals that the majority of core duties are already technically automatable, workers in these roles face the steepest near-term displacement pressure.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 43-4151) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Order clerks be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Order clerks. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing.
- 2. Obtain customers' names, addresses, and billing information, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this information on order forms.
- 3. Prepare invoices, shipping documents, and contracts.
- 4. Recommend merchandise or services that will meet customers' needs.
- 5. Inspect outgoing work for compliance with customers' specifications.
- 6. Receive and respond to customer complaints.
- 7. Check inventory records to determine availability of requested merchandise.
- 8. Verify customer and order information for correctness, checking it against previously obtained information as necessary.
- 9. Confer with production, sales, shipping, warehouse, or common carrier personnel to expedite or trace shipments.
- 10. Direct specified departments or units to prepare and ship orders to designated locations.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Service Orientation
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Mathematics
- Active Learning
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Production and Processing
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Administrative
- Mathematics
- Sales and Marketing
- Transportation
- Public Safety and Security
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Order clerks?
Order clerks has an AI exposure score of 79%, indicating a very high level of automation risk. Many tasks in this role involve routine data processing and pattern recognition that current AI systems can perform.
What is the job outlook for Order clerks?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Order clerks is projected to decline by 17.2% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 89,500 workers.
What skills are needed for Order clerks?
Key skills for Order clerks include Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, and others. Typical entry-level education is Some college, no degree.
How much do Order clerks earn?
The median annual wage for Order clerks is $44,660, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Order clerks?
The typical entry-level education for Order clerks is Some college, no degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Short-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Order clerks?
Order clerks roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Very High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A majority of tasks in this occupation are susceptible to AI automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Order clerks: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (79% here).
- File clerks · AI exposure 79%
- Loan interviewers and clerks · AI exposure 79%
- Payroll and timekeeping clerks · AI exposure 79%
- Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents · AI exposure 79%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-17.2% here).
- Payroll and timekeeping clerks · growth -16.7%
- Structural metal fabricators and fitters · growth -16.3%
- Print binding and finishing workers · growth -16.1%
- File clerks · growth -15.9%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 24 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Order clerks' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Order clerks side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).