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Order Clerks: 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.
What Tasks Do Order Clerks Take On?
The core tasks performed by order clerks cover:
- Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing.
- Obtain customers' names, addresses, and billing information, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this information on order forms.
- Recommend merchandise or services that will meet customers' needs.
- Inspect outgoing work for compliance with customers' specifications.
- Receive and respond to customer complaints.
- Check inventory records to determine availability of requested merchandise.
- Verify customer and order information for correctness, checking it against previously obtained information as necessary.
- Compute total charges for merchandise or services and shipping charges.
What Order Clerks Need to Know
Effective order clerks draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Key Skills
The abilities most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Types of Order Clerks Jobs
Common job titles for this role include:
- Ad Taker (Advertising Taker)
- Advertising Clerk (Ad Clerk)
- Advertising Space Clerk (Ad Space Clerk)
- Back Order Clerk
- Blood Bank Credit Clerk
- Blood Bank Order Control Clerk
- Catalogue Clerk
- Classified Ad Clerk (Classified Advertisement Clerk)
Job Outlook
The U.S. employs around 1,253,974 order clerks working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to decline by -0.5% over the projection horizon.
Order Clerks Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $58,253 |
| Hourly median | $28.01 |
| 10th percentile | $34,439 |
| 25th percentile | $46,346 |
| 75th percentile | $70,160 |
| 90th percentile | $82,067 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Order Clerks Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $54,350 |
| Vermont | $49,810 |
| New Hampshire | $49,200 |
| Oregon | $48,530 |
| Rhode Island | $48,080 |
| District of Columbia | $47,930 |
| Colorado | $47,100 |
| Minnesota | $47,020 |
| New York | $47,010 |
| Washington | $46,740 |
| California | $46,620 |
| Montana | $46,490 |
| Arizona | $46,210 |
| Pennsylvania | $46,020 |
| South Dakota | $45,900 |
| Maine | $45,700 |
| Hawaii | $45,410 |
| Michigan | $45,100 |
| Illinois | $44,790 |
| Ohio | $44,780 |
| Maryland | $44,490 |
| Florida | $44,450 |
| Alabama | $44,260 |
| West Virginia | $44,160 |
| Oklahoma | $44,110 |
| New Jersey | $43,850 |
| Indiana | $43,360 |
| North Carolina | $42,910 |
| Connecticut | $42,860 |
| Wisconsin | $42,660 |
| Nevada | $42,410 |
| Missouri | $41,970 |
| Utah | $41,960 |
| Kansas | $41,880 |
| Iowa | $41,790 |
| Georgia | $41,600 |
| Mississippi | $41,500 |
| Alaska | $41,110 |
| Virginia | $41,090 |
| South Carolina | $40,560 |
| Idaho | $40,530 |
| Arkansas | $40,130 |
| Nebraska | $40,060 |
| Texas | $39,960 |
| Delaware | $39,770 |
| Kentucky | $39,660 |
| Tennessee | $38,890 |
| New Mexico | $37,350 |
| Louisiana | $35,360 |
| Puerto Rico | $29,850 |
Pay by U.S. Region
Compensation for order clerks shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | $48,921 | 3.6% | 0.83 |
| Far Western US | $46,483 | 24.8% | 1.64 |
| Middle Atlantic | $45,419 | 14.3% | 1.05 |
| Rocky Mountains | $45,130 | 3.6% | 1.01 |
| Great Lakes | $44,394 | 17.4% | 1.26 |
| Plains States | $43,137 | 5.2% | 0.85 |
| Southeast | $41,814 | 19.2% | 0.85 |
| Southwest | $41,480 | 11.6% | 1.14 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $59,940 | 560 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | MA | $57,270 | 950 |
| Boulder, CO | CO | $54,620 | 110 |
| Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $51,300 | |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $51,180 | 1,460 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $50,900 | 760 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | CO | $50,850 | 120 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | CT | $50,760 | 190 |
Which Industries Hire Order Clerks
The bulk of order clerks work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale Trade | 22,920 | $46,630 |
| Retail Trade | 16,470 | $42,270 |
| Manufacturing | 14,120 | $46,350 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 7,170 | $43,920 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 7,150 | $44,100 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4,170 | $46,910 |
| Information | 2,250 | $50,330 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 2,180 | $46,330 |
Below are examples of industries where order clerks work:
Tools and Technology
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Internet browser software: Apple Safari (hot technology)
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Internet browser software: Microsoft Edge (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Internet browser software: Mozilla Firefox (hot technology)
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
The on-the-job environment of order clerks tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Telephone Conversations
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals
Getting Started in This Career
Typical order clerks positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Purchasing Managers (Supplemental)
- Postmasters and Mail Superintendents (Supplemental)
- Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products (Supplemental)
- Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products (Supplemental)
- First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers (Supplemental)
- Cashiers (Supplemental)
- Counter and Rental Clerks (Primary-Long)
- Advertising Sales Agents (Supplemental)
References
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 43-4151.00 (Order Clerks).
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