Order Clerks


Nature of the Work About this section

Order clerks receive and process orders for a variety of goods or services and inform customers of receipt, prices, shipping dates, and delays. Order clerks also prepare simple contracts and handle customer complaints.

Education and Training About this section

Most order clerks are trained on the job. Employers prefer workers with a high school diploma or its equivalent, and who are computer literate and proficient in word-processing and spreadsheet software.

Job Outlook About this section

Current and Projected Employment.

2008 Employment 245,700
2018 Employment 181,500
Employment Change -64,200
Growth Rate -26%

Employment change. Employment is expected to decline rapidly. Improvements in technology and office automation continue to increase worker productivity and decrease the need for order clerks.

Job prospects. Favorable opportunities are expected. Despite employment declines, numerous openings will occur each year to replace order clerks who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force. Many of these openings will be for seasonal work, especially in catalog companies or online retailers catering to holiday gift buyers.

Earnings About this section

Median annual wages for order clerks were $27,990 in May 2008.


Cargo and freight agents; Customer service representatives; Stock clerks and order fillers.

O*NET-SOC Code Coverage About this section

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Suggested citation: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Order Clerks, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos148.htm (visited February 10, 2010).

 

Last Modified Date: December 17, 2009