Production, planning, and expediting clerks
SOC Code: 43-5061
Production, planning, and expediting clerks carries a 69% AI exposure score (Very High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $57,770 and -1.8% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 388,800 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 69% AI exposure, Production, planning, and expediting clerks sits 32 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 97% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
25/100
Production, planning, and expediting 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 D $57,770
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -1.8%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 69% 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 Production, planning, and expediting clerks in the Very High band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Production, planning, and expediting clerks keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Slow growth (245 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Production, planning, and expediting 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 Production, planning, and expediting clerks sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
69% Higher than most higher than 97% 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.
Production, planning, and expediting clerks vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Production, planning, and expediting 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
Production, planning, and expediting 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 in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
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 43-5061) 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 Production, planning, and expediting 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 Production, planning, and expediting 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. Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments.
- 2. Revise production schedules when required due to design changes, labor or material shortages, backlogs, or other interruptions, collaborating with management, marketing, sales, production, or engineering.
- 3. Review documents, such as production schedules, work orders, or staffing tables, to determine personnel or materials requirements or material priorities.
- 4. Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules.
- 5. Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays.
- 6. Requisition and maintain inventories of materials or supplies necessary to meet production demands.
- 7. Confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes.
- 8. Examine documents, materials, or products and monitor work processes to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications.
- 9. Plan production commitments or timetables for business units, specific programs, or jobs, using sales forecasts.
- 10. Compile information, such as production rates and progress, materials inventories, materials used, or customer information, so that status reports can be completed.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Time Management
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
- Coordination
- Social Perceptiveness
Knowledge Areas
- Production and Processing
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Administrative
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Transportation
- Public Safety and Security
- Personnel and Human Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Production, planning, and expediting clerks?
Production, planning, and expediting clerks has an AI exposure score of 69%, indicating a very high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Production, planning, and expediting clerks?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Production, planning, and expediting clerks is projected to decline by 1.8% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 388,800 workers.
What skills are needed for Production, planning, and expediting clerks?
Key skills for Production, planning, and expediting clerks include Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Active Listening, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Production, planning, and expediting clerks earn?
The median annual wage for Production, planning, and expediting clerks is $57,770, 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 Production, planning, and expediting clerks?
The typical entry-level education for Production, planning, and expediting clerks is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Production, planning, and expediting clerks?
Production, planning, and expediting 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 Production, planning, and expediting 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 (69% here).
- Compliance officers · AI exposure 69%
- Insurance claims and policy processing clerks · AI exposure 69%
- Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other · AI exposure 69%
- Loan officers · AI exposure 69%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-1.8% here).
- Career/technical education teachers, secondary school · growth -1.8%
- Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school · growth -1.8%
- Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents · growth -1.8%
- Upholsterers · growth -1.8%
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 Production, planning, and expediting clerks' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Production, planning, and expediting 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).