# Procurement Clerks

US SOC code 43-3061. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/43-3061

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **55,810** US procurement clerks, with median pay of **$50,580** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **79,610**, in May 2008. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ1940.shtml) of **75,000** from 1940, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for procurement clerks: Internet e-procurement platforms, 1996 to 2015.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay, highest count); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 8.1% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-3061&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

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.

## Procurement Clerks employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1915
- Latest US employment: 55,810 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $50,580 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [9]
- Outlook: -8.1% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [19]

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1940 | 75,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IPUMS USA [1] |
| 1950 | n/a | $2,600 (average) (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [6] |
| 1960 | 150,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Census Bureau [2] |
| 1980 | 195,000 | $14,200 (average) (estimate) | Decennial Census 1980 (employment) [3]; Est., BLS Monthly Labor Review (pay) [7] |
| 2000 | 75,960 | $27,720 | BLS OEWS 2000 [4] |
| 2003 | 72,820 | $30,140 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 71,740 | $30,890 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 71,390 | $32,210 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 74,370 | $33,100 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 77,180 | $34,120 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 79,610 | $34,780 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 78,150 | $36,110 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 73,650 | $36,790 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 70,540 | $37,640 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 69,750 | $38,220 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 68,690 | $38,780 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 70,190 | $39,930 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 71,470 | $40,600 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 72,120 | $41,410 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 70,510 | $41,910 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 68,100 | $42,670 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 66,030 | $43,310 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 61,000 | $44,740 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 61,930 | $45,150 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 63,340 | $45,240 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 61,580 | $46,670 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 59,900 | $48,510 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 55,810 | $50,580 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (72)

### Employment series

1. [IPUMS USA -- 1940 Occupation Codes (OCC variable documentation: clerical and kindred workers, codes 200-266)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ1940.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
2. [Census Bureau -- Occupational Trends in the United States 1900 to 1950 (1958, clerical occupation growth)](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1958/demographics/occupational-trends-1958.pdf), US Census Bureau
3. [Census Bureau -- PC80-S1-15 Detailed Occupation of the Experienced Civilian Labor Force by Sex (1980 and 1970)](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1984/demo/pc80-s1-15.html), US Census Bureau
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)

### Wage series

6. [University of Missouri Libraries -- Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959 (BLS clerical wage data)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
7. [BLS Monthly Labor Review -- June 1982, clerical occupation earnings and employment (art4full)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1982/06/art4full.pdf), Bureau of Labor Statistics
8. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
9. 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)

### Tool eras

10. [Wikipedia -- IBM Electric typewriter (history: IBM acquisition of Electromatic Typewriters 1933)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Electric_typewriter), Wikipedia
11. [Smithsonian Education -- "Carbons to Computers: A Short History of the Birth and Growth of the American Office"](https://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/carbons/text/birth.html), Smithsonian Institution
12. [Wikipedia -- Electronic data interchange (history: TDCC 1968, ANSI X12 1979, procurement applications)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_data_interchange), Wikipedia
13. [Crackerjack-IT -- "The History and Evolution of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)"](https://crackerjack-it.com/the-history-and-evolution-of-electronic-data-interchange-edi/), Crackerjack-IT
14. [G2 -- "The Complete History of ERP: Its Rise to a Powerful Solution" (SAP, Oracle, ERP timeline)](https://www.g2.com/articles/history-of-erp), G2
15. [SAP -- "What is ERP?" (ERP history and MRP origins)](https://www.sap.com/resources/what-is-erp), SAP SE
16. [FundingUniverse -- "History of Ariba, Inc." (founding 1996, IPO 1999, e-procurement impact)](https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/ariba-inc-history/), FundingUniverse
17. [Wikipedia -- Procurement software (market history: Ariba, Oracle, SAP acquisitions)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_software), Wikipedia
18. [Suplari -- "10 Procurement Job Roles Most Impacted by AI (2025 to 2035 Projections)" (procurement clerk 95% automation exposure)](https://suplari.com/blog/10-procurement-job-roles-most-impacted-by-ai), Suplari

### Forecasts and exposure studies

19. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 43-3061 Procurement clerks (2025: 56.9 thousand; 2035: 52.3 thousand; -8.1%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-3061&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Historical notes

20. [Wikipedia -- Institute for Supply Management (founding 1915 as NAPA, history through ISM)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Supply_Management), Wikipedia
21. [LOC / Inside Adams -- "WWII: Detail from War Supply Contracts" (wartime federal procurement documentation)](https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2013/03/wwii-detail-from-war-supply-contracts/), Library of Congress
22. [Wikipedia -- Electronic data interchange (TDCC 1968, ANSI X12 1979, early procurement applications)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_data_interchange), Wikipedia
23. [Isaac Manuel / SAP ERP Course -- "History and Evolution of SAP ERP" (SAP R/3 launch 1992, client-server era)](https://isaacmanuel.org/courses/mastering-sap-erp-fundamentals-quick-start-for-beginners-course/lessons/history-and-evolution-of-sap-erp/), Isaac Manuel SAP ERP Course
24. [LinkedIn / James Marland -- "10 Trillion Dollars Later: 20 years of Ariba Network" (first transaction April 1999, PO-Flip history)](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-trillion-dollars-later-20-years-ariba-network-james-marland), LinkedIn / James Marland
25. [NAPM / Supply & Demand Chain Executive -- "NAPM Set to Become ISM" (name change to Institute for Supply Management, 2001)](https://www.sdcexec.com/home/press-release/10311238/institute-for-supply-management-ism-napm-set-to-become-ism), Supply & Demand Chain Executive

### Predecessors & successors

26. [Smithsonian Education -- "Carbons to Computers: A Short History of the Birth and Growth of the American Office" (clerical specialization)](https://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/carbons/text/birth.html), Smithsonian Institution

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

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