# Human Resources Specialists

US SOC code 13-1071. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/13-1071

Also called: HR specialist, Recruiter, Talent acquisition specialist, HR generalist, Recruiting specialist.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **912,430** US human resources specialists, with median pay of **$75,940** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2012, the highest was **917,460**, in May 2024, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://the411hr.com/how-a-1901-strike-gave-birth-to-americas-first-hr-department/) of **12,000** from 1910, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for human resources specialists: Conversational AI recruiting, 2019 to 2023. Conversational AI scheduling raised interview throughput for teams that adopted it.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 6.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=13-1071&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **58.9%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Human Resources Specialists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1901
- Latest US employment: 912,430 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $75,940 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: +6.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [31]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **United Kingdom** (UK SOC 3571)
  - Employment, 2025: 138,000. Source: ONS ASHE 2025 [8]. ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Table 14): employee jobs in SOC 3571 Human resources and industrial relations officers, United Kingdom, 2025 (ASHE "number of jobs", thousands x1000; excludes self-employment). Open Government Licence v3.0.
  - Median pay, 2025: £33,012. Source: ONS ASHE 2025 [16]. ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Table 14.7a): median gross annual pay for all employee jobs in SOC 3571 Human resources and industrial relations officers, United Kingdom, 2025. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- **Australia** (ANZSCO 2231)
  - Employment, 2025: 84,700. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey [9]. ABS Labour Force Survey (Detailed), table EQ08: employed persons in ANZSCO 2231 Human Resource Professionals, national (summed across sex and state/territory), annual average of 4 quarterly estimates.
  - Median pay, 2025: A$102,440. Source: ABS Employee Earnings May 2025 [17]. Annualised (x52) from A$1,970 median weekly earnings. ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025: median pay for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate, before tax. Surfaced via the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile.

### All 25 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1910 | 12,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., The 411 HR [1] |
| 1940 | 65,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NLRB [2] |
| 1970 | 160,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., EEOC [3] |
| 1990 | 355,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Society for Human Resource Management [4] |
| 2003 | 164,020 | $40,770 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 169,750 | $41,190 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 181,260 | $41,780 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 186,620 | $42,420 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 193,620 | $44,380 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 205,800 | $45,470 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 198,190 | $46,200 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2012 | 394,380 | $55,800 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 426,570 | $56,630 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 456,170 | $57,420 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 491,090 | $58,350 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 524,800 | $59,180 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 553,950 | $60,350 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 593,790 | $60,880 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 633,040 | $61,920 | BLS OEWS May 2019 (employment) [5]; BLS OEWS May 2019 (pay) [11] |
| 2020 | 647,810 | $63,490 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 740,830 | $62,290 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 835,360 | $64,240 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 895,970 | $67,650 | BLS OEWS May 2023 (employment) [5]; BLS OEWS May 2023 (pay) [12] |
| 2024 | 917,460 | $72,910 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 912,430 | $75,940 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (102)

### Employment series

1. [The 411 HR — "The Strike That Created America's 1st Personnel Department" (NCR 1901 origin story)](https://the411hr.com/how-a-1901-strike-gave-birth-to-americas-first-hr-department/), The 411 HR
2. [NLRB — "1935 Passage of the Wagner Act" (history of mandatory labor relations functions)](https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/who-we-are/our-history/1935-passage-of-the-wagner-act), National Labor Relations Board
3. [EEOC — "EEOC History: 1964-1969" (Title VII origin, EEOC founding 1965)](https://www.eeoc.gov/history/eeoc-history-1964-1969), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
4. [Society for Human Resource Management — Wikipedia (ASPA founding 1948, renamed SHRM 1989)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Human_Resource_Management), Wikipedia
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3562, United Kingdom. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0., Office for National Statistics. Editions: [2002](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2002/2002-table-14.zip), [2006](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2006consistentw_007methodology/2006-table-14.zip), [2010](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2010revised/2010-revised-table-14.zip), [2011](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2011revisedbasedonsoc2010/2011-revised-table-14.zip), [2015](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2015/table142015revised.zip), [2020](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2020revised/table142020revised.zip)
7. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3571, United Kingdom, 2022. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2022revised/ashetable142022revised.zip), Office for National Statistics
8. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3571, United Kingdom, 2025. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2025provisional/ashetable142025provisional.zip), Office for National Statistics
9. [ABS: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, table EQ08 (Employed persons by Occupation unit group, ANZSCO 2013), latest release](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release), Australian Bureau of Statistics

### Wage series

10. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
11. [BLS OEWS May 2019 — 13-1071 Human Resources Specialists median annual wage](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes131071.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. [BLS OEWS May 2023 — 13-1071 Human Resources Specialists median annual wage](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes131071.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
13. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
14. ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3562, United Kingdom. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0., Office for National Statistics. Editions: [2002](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2002/2002-table-14.zip), [2006](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2006consistentw_007methodology/2006-table-14.zip), [2010](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2010revised/2010-revised-table-14.zip), [2011](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2011revisedbasedonsoc2010/2011-revised-table-14.zip), [2015](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2015/table142015revised.zip), [2020](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2020revised/table142020revised.zip)
15. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3571, United Kingdom, 2022. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2022revised/ashetable142022revised.zip), Office for National Statistics
16. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3571, United Kingdom, 2025. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2025provisional/ashetable142025provisional.zip), Office for National Statistics
17. [Jobs and Skills Australia: Human Resource Professionals (ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025)](https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/occupations/2231-human-resource-professionals), Jobs and Skills Australia / Australian Bureau of Statistics

### Tool eras

18. [The 411 HR — "The Strike That Created America's 1st Personnel Department" (NCR model, 1901)](https://the411hr.com/how-a-1901-strike-gave-birth-to-americas-first-hr-department/), The 411 HR
19. [HRMS World — "A Brief History of HRMS Software" (mainframe HRIS, EDS, 1960s-1980s)](https://www.hrmsworld.com/history-of-hrms-software-351.html), HRMS World
20. [Wikipedia — PeopleSoft (founding 1987, Oracle acquisition 2004)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PeopleSoft), Wikipedia
21. [The Register — "20 years since Oracle bought two software rivals in one" (PeopleSoft acquisition retrospective, 2025)](https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/02/twenty_years_since_oracle_bought_peoplesoft/), The Register
22. [Resume Optimizer Pro — "What Does ATS Stand For? History and Modern Meaning" (Resumix 1988, Taleo 1999)](https://resumeoptimizerpro.com/blog/what-does-ats-stand-for-resume), Resume Optimizer Pro
23. [Wikipedia — Workday, Inc. (founded 2005, launched 2006, Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workday,_Inc.), Wikipedia
24. [Stacksync — "The Revenge Against Oracle: The Origin Story of Workday"](https://www.stacksync.com/blog/the-revenge-against-oracle-the-origin-story-of-workday), Stacksync
25. [CNBC — "Amazon scraps a secret A.I. recruiting tool that showed bias against women" (October 10, 2018)](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/amazon-scraps-a-secret-ai-recruiting-tool-that-showed-bias-against-women.html), CNBC
26. [Littler — "EEOC Issues Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools in Employment Selection Procedures Under Title VII" (May 2023)](https://www.littler.com/news-analysis/asap/eeoc-issues-guidance-use-artificial-intelligence-tools-employment-selection), Littler Mendelson
27. [Paradox — Olivia conversational hiring AI (McDonald's, Wendy's, 7-Eleven and enterprise deployments)](https://www.paradox.ai/), Paradox
28. [Seyfarth Shaw — "Mobley v. Workday: Court Holds AI Service Providers Could Be Directly Liable for Employment Discrimination" (July 2024 ruling)](https://www.seyfarth.com/news-insights/mobley-v-workday-court-holds-ai-service-providers-could-be-directly-liable-for-employment-discrimination-under-agent-theory.html), Seyfarth Shaw LLP
29. [SHRM 2025 Talent Trends — "AI in HR" (51% of organizations using AI for recruiting; resume screening 44%)](https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/research/2025-talent-trends/ai-in-hr), Society for Human Resource Management
30. [Josh Bersin — "The Great Reinvention of Human Resources Has Begun" (January 2026, 30-40% HR role automation)](https://joshbersin.com/2026/01/the-great-reinvention-of-human-resources-has-begun/), Josh Bersin

### Forecasts and exposure studies

31. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 13-1071 Human resources specialists (2025: 939.7 thousand; 2035: 999.7 thousand; +6.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=13-1071&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
32. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 13-1071.00, human-rated β 0.589)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

33. [The 411 HR — "The Strike That Created America's 1st Personnel Department"](https://the411hr.com/how-a-1901-strike-gave-birth-to-americas-first-hr-department/), The 411 HR
34. [EBSCO Research Starters — "Hawthorne Studies Examine Human Productivity" (1924 illumination studies)](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/economics/hawthorne-studies-examine-human-productivity), EBSCO
35. [Wikipedia — Society for Human Resource Management (ASPA founding 1948, renamed SHRM 1989)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Human_Resource_Management), Wikipedia
36. [EEOC — "EEOC History: 1964-1969" (Title VII, 1964)](https://www.eeoc.gov/history/eeoc-history-1964-1969), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
37. [Umbrex — "Ulrich HR Business Partner Model" (1997 Human Resource Champions, four-role framework)](https://umbrex.com/resources/frameworks/organization-frameworks/ulrich-hr-business-partner-model/), Umbrex
38. [CNBC — "Amazon scraps a secret A.I. recruiting tool that showed bias against women" (October 10, 2018)](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/amazon-scraps-a-secret-ai-recruiting-tool-that-showed-bias-against-women.html), CNBC
39. [Littler — "EEOC Issues Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools in Employment Selection Procedures Under Title VII" (May 2023)](https://www.littler.com/news-analysis/asap/eeoc-issues-guidance-use-artificial-intelligence-tools-employment-selection), Littler Mendelson
40. [Seyfarth Shaw — "Mobley v. Workday: Court Holds AI Service Providers Could Be Directly Liable for Employment Discrimination Under Agent Theory" (July 2024)](https://www.seyfarth.com/news-insights/mobley-v-workday-court-holds-ai-service-providers-could-be-directly-liable-for-employment-discrimination-under-agent-theory.html), Seyfarth Shaw LLP

### Predecessors & successors

41. [The 411 HR — "The Strike That Created America's 1st Personnel Department" (1901 NCR, welfare worker origins)](https://the411hr.com/how-a-1901-strike-gave-birth-to-americas-first-hr-department/), The 411 HR
42. [NLRB — "1935 Passage of the Wagner Act" (labor relations as HR origin)](https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/who-we-are/our-history/1935-passage-of-the-wagner-act), National Labor Relations Board

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-23
- [O\*NET 30.3 — Human Resources Specialists (13-1071.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1071.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [SHRM — The State of AI in HR 2026: survey of 1,908 HR professionals on AI adoption and compliance](https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/research/state-of-ai-hr-2026), accessed 2026-06-21
- [Aptitude Research — AI Adoption in Talent Acquisition (2026): 62% of employers now use AI in hiring](https://www.aptituderesearch.com/ai-adoption-in-talent-acquisition-why-62-of-companies-use-ai-but-true-adoption-still-lags/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Josh Bersin — The Great Reinvention of Human Resources Has Begun (January 2026)](https://joshbersin.com/2026/01/the-great-reinvention-of-human-resources-has-begun/), accessed 2026-06-21
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Human Resources Specialists (2024)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/human-resources-specialists.htm), accessed 2026-05-23
- [McKinsey — The State of AI in 2025](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Paradox — Conversational ATS: Olivia AI screening and scheduling for high-volume hiring](https://www.paradox.ai/products/conversational-ats), accessed 2026-06-21
- [Eightfold AI — Talent Intelligence Platform: AI-powered candidate matching and sourcing](https://eightfold.ai/products/talent-acquisition/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Workday — Recruiter Agent: AI-powered resume screening and candidate ranking](https://www.workday.com/en-us/products/talent-management/overview.html), accessed 2026-05-23
- [iCIMS — Coalesce AI: AI recruiting and candidate matching software](https://www.icims.com/products/talent-cloud-platform/ai-recruiting/), accessed 2026-06-21
- [Moveworks — AI for HR: automated policy FAQ resolution, case routing, and employee self-service](https://www.moveworks.com/us/en/solutions/ai-for-hr), accessed 2026-06-21
- [ServiceNow — HR Service Delivery AI: intelligent employee self-service and case routing](https://www.servicenow.com/products/hr-service-delivery.html), accessed 2026-05-23

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.