Order Clerks

Lowest scored
High Risk
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Explore safer careers (4)

Lower estimated automation risk

Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
29% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
44.9 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits experienced order clerks who understand vendors, pricing, terms, delivery, and contracts, with purchasing training.

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
38% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
35.5 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Plausible for senior clerks who already coordinate order teams, queues, quality checks, and escalations.

Procurement Clerks
58% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Higher growth
15.4 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Transfers purchase orders, vendors, pricing, delivery dates, records, and follow-up habits.

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks
67% automation risk | High Risk
Pays better Higher growth
6.9 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses order flow, scheduling, status tracking, delays, and coordination across sales, production, and shipping.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
1.2/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

74% (High Risk)

High Risk (61-80%): This occupation shows a significant risk of end-to-end replacement by automation. Many core parts of the role may be structured, repeatable, software-driven, or physically predictable enough for AI, machines, or robotic systems to take over. If you work in this area, it may be worth exploring safer related careers or moving towards more human-centred responsibilities.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Assisting and caring for others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Persuasion

Quite important
Why this matters
Influencing people to change their minds or behavior through conversation, trust, and negotiation.
Jobs that also use this strength

Social perceptiveness

Quite important
Why this matters
Noticing others’ emotions and reactions in the moment and adjusting what you say or do based on why they’re responding that way.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
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Show 3 more strengths

Communicating with people outside the organization

Quite important
Why this matters
Represents the organization to customers, the public, or government—handling questions, concerns, and relationship-building through conversations, writing, calls, or email.
Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
Jobs that also use this strength

Education and training expertise

Quite important
Why this matters
Designing and delivering instruction—adapting lessons to different learners and measuring whether training actually works.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 34 votes

80% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted that it's very probable this occupation will be automated. The automation risk level we have generated is less clear, and shows 74% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Order Clerks will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

View sentiment trend

Pay & outlook

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Order Clerks was $44,660 ($21 per hour).

The median annual wage for Order Clerks was 9.8% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Order Clerks' job openings is expected to decline 17.2% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 83,420 people employed as 'Order Clerks' within the United States.

This represents around 0.05% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 1 thousand people are employed as 'Order Clerks'.

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Job description

Receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, classified ads, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. Generally receives orders via mail, phone, fax, or other electronic means. Duties include informing customers of receipt, prices, shipping dates, and delays; preparing contracts; and handling complaints.

O*NET-SOC code: 43-4151.00