Office and Administrative Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 43-3051

Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks

O*NET task statements lead this Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Brokerage Clerks, Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Cargo and Freight Agents.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks: Brokerage Clerks ($66K) , Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks ($51K) , Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants ($56K) , Cargo and Freight Agents ($52K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 43-3051 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records
  2. 2. Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions
  3. 3. Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers
  4. 4. Prepare and file payroll tax returns
  5. 5. Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system
  6. 6. Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements
  7. 7. Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies
  8. 8. Distribute and collect timecards each pay period
  9. 9. Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records
  10. 10. Issue and record adjustments to pay related to previous errors or retroactive increases
  11. 11. Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits accounts, and submit them to appropriate departments
  12. 12. Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees

Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 43-3051 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Administrative. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.8
  3. 3. Mathematics 3.3
  4. 4. Writing 3.1
  5. 5. Speaking 3.1
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.1
  7. 7. Monitoring 3.0
  8. 8. Service Orientation 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Administrative 4.5
  2. 2. Mathematics 4.2
  3. 3. English Language 4.2
  4. 4. Economics and Accounting 4.1
  5. 5. Personnel and Human Resources 3.9
  6. 6. Administration and Management 3.8
National median after O*NET task lead
$58,260
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records
$58K
National median
↓ -17%
Growth 2024-2034
13,000
Annual openings
153,140
Estimated US jobs
Brokerage Clerks
Highest-pay peer · $66K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks

1. California $65,340
2. District of Columbia $74,670
3. Colorado $64,140
4. Hawaii $62,070
5. New Hampshire $63,090
6. Alaska $62,210
7. Illinois $61,390
8. Connecticut $62,200
9. Massachusetts $63,670
10. Washington $64,560

Other Office and Administrative Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Brokerage Clerks $65,750
  2. 2. Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants $55,570
  3. 3. Cargo and Freight Agents $52,260
  4. 4. Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks $50,670
  5. 5. Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks $59,650
  6. 6. Postal Service Mail Carriers $60,550

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks (SOC 43-3051). The national OEWS median is $58,260 inside Office and Administrative Support Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Brokerage Clerks, Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Cargo and Freight Agents. Lead published task: Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.

Employment Projections expect -17% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 13,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: California at $65,340. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Brokerage Clerks at $65,750. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks pay-rank #8 in Office and Administrative Support Occupations

Among 54 detailed Office and Administrative Support Occupations with a published OEWS median, Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is pay-rank #8, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 43-3051 · national median $58,260 · upper third of Office and Administrative Support Occupations (#8/54). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 43-3051

California · top state for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks

$65K published median

District of Columbia · #2 state pay

$75K · behind California

Brokerage Clerks

Highest-pay peer vs Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks · $66K

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

Lower-pay peer beside Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks · $51K

Compare Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Office and Administrative Support Occupations titles sit near Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks at the top of the pay table? ▼
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is pay-rank #8 of 54 detailed Office and Administrative Support Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators ($58K), Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks ($60K), Postal Service Mail Carriers ($61K), Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants ($56K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do payroll and timekeeping clerks do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks. Leading ones include: Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records; Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions; Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers; Prepare and file payroll tax returns. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for payroll and timekeeping clerks? ▼
For SOC 43-3051, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (3.9), Active Listening (3.8), Mathematics (3.3), Writing (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Administrative, Mathematics, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $58,260 as the national median for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks. The published 10th-90th range is $39,500 to $81,350. Beside Brokerage Clerks ($65,750), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks is -17%. Projected annual openings: about 13,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks? ▼
California ($65,340), District of Columbia ($74,670), Colorado ($64,140) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 43-3051. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics