# First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

US SOC code 43-1011. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/43-1011

Also called: Office manager, Administrative supervisor, Office supervisor, Administrative manager, Accounts payable supervisor.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **1,436,680** US first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers, with median pay of **$69,500** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2012, the highest was **1,504,570**, in May 2023, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.officemuseum.com/office_gender.htm) of **7,000** from 1870, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Cloud HCM + Slack/Teams collaboration platforms, 2016 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects little or no change in employment from 2025 to 2035 (+0.1%). Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-1011&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **53.1%** 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.

## First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1840
- Latest US employment: 1,436,680 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $69,500 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [11]
- Outlook: +0.1% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [26]

### 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.

- **Canada** (NOC 12010)
  - Employment, 2020: 66,690. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [7]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income, the EXACT SUM of the cited cells for NOC 12010 + 12011 + 12012 + 12013 (this US occupation has no single NOC unit-group equivalent), combined as Administrative and office support supervisors, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. A sum of cited cells, not an estimate. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$69,500. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [14]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 12010 Supervisors, general office and administrative support workers, the dominant constituent of the combined Administrative and office support supervisors (NOC 12010 + 12011 + 12012 + 12013), Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). This is the cited median of the dominant group, not a blend of the constituent medians. Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 31 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1870 | 7,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Early Office Museum [1] |
| 1890 | n/a | $925 (estimate) | Est., Early Office Museum [8] |
| 1900 | 70,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Early Office Museum [1] |
| 1930 | 370,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Early Office Museum [1] |
| 1956 | n/a | $4,500 | BLS historical bulletin 1956 [9] |
| 1970 | 880,000 | n/a | Census (IPUMS) 1970 [2] |
| 1990 | 1,400,000 | n/a | Census (IPUMS) 2002 [3] |
| 2000 | 1,394,640 | $36,420 | BLS OEWS 2000 [4] |
| 2003 | 1,412,470 | $39,490 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 1,406,240 | $41,030 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 1,352,130 | $42,400 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 1,351,180 | $43,510 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 1,378,240 | $44,650 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 1,404,330 | $45,790 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 1,381,060 | $46,910 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 1,359,950 | $47,460 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 1,364,720 | $48,810 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 1,359,150 | $49,330 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 1,366,510 | $50,190 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 1,404,070 | $50,780 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 1,424,450 | $52,630 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 1,443,150 | $54,340 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 1,458,380 | $55,060 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 1,477,560 | $55,810 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 1,487,870 | $56,620 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 1,427,260 | $58,450 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 1,443,630 | $60,590 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 1,495,440 | $61,370 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 1,504,570 | $63,450 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 1,495,580 | $66,140 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 1,436,680 | $69,500 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (92)

### Employment series

1. [Early Office Museum — "Gender & the Office" (clerical workforce ~74,000 in 1870; supervisor figure derived as a share of the cited clerical total)](https://www.officemuseum.com/office_gender.htm), Early Office Museum
2. [IPUMS USA — OCC1950 variable documentation: clerical supervisors / foremen category (harmonized 1970 Census)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/OCC1950), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
3. [US Census Bureau / BLS CPS — "Section 12: Labor Force, Employment, and Earnings" (Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2002; supervisors of administrative support occupations historical series)](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2002/compendia/statab/121ed/tables/labor.pdf), US Census Bureau / Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
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), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.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. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

8. [Early Office Museum — "Gender & the Office" (Philadelphia 1890 wage survey: male office workers $925.70/yr, female $433.12)](https://www.officemuseum.com/office_gender.htm), Early Office Museum
9. [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Wage Survey bulletin (1956), office and clerical occupations — FRASER scan](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/occupational-wage-survey-4510), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
11. 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), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.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), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
12. [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
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
14. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

15. [Smithsonian Education -- "Carbons to Computers: A Short History of the Birth and Growth of the American Office" (railroads and the first managerial hierarchy)](https://www.smithsonianeducation.org/scitech/carbons/text/birth.html), Smithsonian Institution
16. [Wikipedia -- "Scientific management" (Taylorism, higher ratio of managerial workers to laborers, 1880s-1920s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management), Wikipedia
17. [Office Museum -- "Gender and the Office" (clerical workforce growth 1870-1930)](https://www.officemuseum.com/office_gender.htm), Early Office Museum
18. [Smithsonian National Museum of American History -- Bookkeeping Machines collection (Burroughs, NCR; electric office equipment 1900s-1960s)](https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/bookkeeping-machines), Smithsonian National Museum of American History
19. [Library of Congress -- Office History Research Guide: Typewriters and Computers (IBM MT/ST 1964, word processing center history)](https://guides.loc.gov/office-history/typewriters-computers), Library of Congress
20. [Harvard Business Review -- "A Brief History of the Modern Office" (PC, email, paper consumption peak in 1990s)](https://hbr.org/2020/07/a-brief-history-of-the-modern-office), Harvard Business Review
21. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Office and Administrative Support Occupations (automation impact narrative 2020s)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/), Bureau of Labor Statistics
22. [Microsoft -- Teams product (270M monthly active users 2023; launch 2017; restructured office communication)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software), Microsoft
23. [Microsoft -- Microsoft 365 Copilot (general availability November 2023; Copilot Cowork agentic workflows 2026 Wave 1)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot), Microsoft
24. [Reclaim.ai -- AI calendar and team scheduling platform (7.6 hrs/week saved; 320K+ users)](https://reclaim.ai/), Reclaim.ai
25. [BLS National Employment Matrix -- 43-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers (2024-34 projection: -0.3%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-1011&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

26. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 43-1011 First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers (2025: 1,506.1 thousand; 2035: 1,507.0 thousand; +0.1%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-1011&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
27. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 43-1011.00, human-rated β 0.531)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

28. [Smithsonian Education -- "Carbons to Computers: Birth and Growth of the American Office" (railroads, telegraph, and the first managerial hierarchy)](https://www.smithsonianeducation.org/scitech/carbons/text/birth.html), Smithsonian Institution
29. [Wikipedia -- "Scientific management" (Taylor 1911 Principles; ratio of managerial workers to laborers; application to office work)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management), Wikipedia
30. [Library of Congress Office History Research Guide -- Typewriters and Computers (IBM MT/ST 1964; word processing centers)](https://guides.loc.gov/office-history/typewriters-computers), Library of Congress
31. [Harvard Business Review -- "A Brief History of the Modern Office" (1990s downsizing, flattened hierarchies, surviving supervisory roles)](https://hbr.org/2020/07/a-brief-history-of-the-modern-office), Harvard Business Review
32. [SHRM -- State of AI in HR 2026 Report (66% of supervisors actively using AI; post-pandemic digital transformation context)](https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/research/state-of-ai-hr-2026/full-report), SHRM

### Predecessors & successors

33. [Smithsonian Education -- "Carbons to Computers" (railroads pioneered the managerial hierarchy with chief clerks supervising bookkeepers)](https://www.smithsonianeducation.org/scitech/carbons/text/birth.html), Smithsonian Institution
34. [Wikipedia -- "Scientific management" (higher supervisor-to-worker ratio; specialized clerical pools requiring foremen)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management), Wikipedia

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3, First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers (43-1011.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-1011.00), accessed 2026-06-03
- [BLS OEWS May 2024, First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers (oes431011) (national flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), accessed 2026-10-07
- [BLS Occupational Employment Projections 2024-2034, Office and Administrative Support overview](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Eloundou et al. 2024, GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Goldman Sachs, Generative AI Could Replace 300 Million Jobs (2023)](https://aibusiness.com/nlp/goldman-sachs-generative-ai-could-replace-300-million-jobs), accessed 2026-06-03
- [McKinsey MGI, Generative AI and the Future of Work in America (2023)](https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/generative-ai-and-the-future-of-work-in-america), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Robert Half, 2026 Administrative and Customer Support Job Market: In-demand roles and hiring trends](https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/research/data-reveals-which-administrative-and-customer-support-roles-are-in-highest-demand), accessed 2026-06-03
- [SHRM, State of AI in HR 2026 Report](https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/research/state-of-ai-hr-2026/full-report), accessed 2026-06-03
- [GoElite, CFOs say AI is coming for admin jobs (2025)](https://goelite.com/blogs/cfos-see-ai-reshaping-administrative-workforces-in-2026), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Office Dynamics, The Future of Administrative Professionals: AI and What's Next in 2026](https://officedynamics.com/ai-and-the-future-of-administrative-professionals/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Reclaim.ai, AI calendar and team scheduling platform (Dropbox; 320K+ users, 7.6 hrs/week saved)](https://reclaim.ai/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Microsoft, Copilot Cowork: multi-step workflow execution across Outlook, Teams, Calendar (2026)](https://redmondmag.com/articles/2026/03/31/microsoft-pushes-copilot-deeper-into-workflow-automation.aspx), accessed 2026-06-03
- [UKG Pro, AI-powered workforce management: Report Hub, conversational analytics, workforce intelligence](https://www.hr.com/en/app/blog/2025/06/ukg-goes-all-in-on-ai-unveiling-a-new-era-for-work_mbqyspx5.html), accessed 2026-06-03
- [UKG Pro, AI-powered scheduling: Intra-week Capacity Planning, Dynamic Labor Management, retail/healthcare forecasting (H2 2025 roadmap)](https://www.ukg.com/ai), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Rippling, Employee scheduling: compliant schedules with labor-law optimization](https://www.rippling.com/products/hr/scheduling), accessed 2026-06-03

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