File clerks are office personnel who help keep records organized. While file clerks used to work exclusively with paper records, many now scan paper documents and file them electronically. Many file clerks are hired with only a high school diploma, but some employers prefer to hire clerks who have some form of college education.
Average National Pay
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, file clerks earned an average wage of $13.48 an hour and an average salary of $28,030 a year as of May 2012. The median-earning half of file clerks reported an annual income between $20,810 and $33,770, while the highest-paid 10 percent of file clerks reportedly earned $41,230 or more per year.
Pay by State
The District of Columbia was the highest-paying state for file clerks in 2012, where they earned an average of $39,520 per year. Alaska ranked second with an average annual salary of $34,080. File clerks working in California averaged $31,640 per year, while those in Connecticut and Maryland reported an average annual salary of $31,000. Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana reported the lowest average pay for file clerks, between $22,000 and $23,000 per year.
Pay by Employer
Physicians' offices were the largest single employer of file clerks in 2012, and paid them a relatively low average salary of $23,610 per year. By comparison, employment services paid file clerks an average of $26,620, general hospitals an average of $28,190 and law offices paid an average of $29,330. File clerks working for local government agencies earned an average of $32,690 per year. Those who worked for wired telecommunications carriers reported the highest average pay for their occupation, $44,150 per year.
The employment outlook for file clerks is not very good. As more organizations convert to electronic recordkeeping, the work of file clerks becomes more efficient, and fewer individual clerks are needed. In some cases, clerk positions will be eliminated as the work previously done by file clerks falls to other personnel. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 5 percent of file clerk positions are expected to be eliminated between 2010 and 2020, a loss of approximately 8,800 jobs.
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