# Tellers

US SOC code 43-3071. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/43-3071

Also called: Bank teller, Head teller, Senior teller, Universal banker, Relationship teller.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes433071.htm) counted **329,480** US tellers, with median pay of **$43,030** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **364,210**, in May 2021. The earliest figure here is [a Census count](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1975/compendia/hist_stats_colonial-1970/hist_stats_colonial-1970p1-chD.pdf) of **135,000** from 1960, not measured the same way as today's count.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 13.2% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-3071&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **33.3%** 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)
- **0.98** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.98. BLS counted **527,680** of these jobs in May 2013 and **329,480** in May 2025. The count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed how it estimates these counts, so no change is derived here.

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.

## Tellers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1791
- Latest US employment: 329,480 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $43,030 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [11]
- Outlook: -13.2% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [25]

### 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 64400)
  - Employment, 2020: 58,750. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [7]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 64400 Customer services representatives - financial institutions, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$45,600. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [14]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 64400 Customer services representatives - financial institutions, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 29 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1960 | 135,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1970 [1] |
| 1970 | 254,000 | $5,500 (estimate) | Decennial Census 1970 (employment) [1]; Est., FRASER / BLS Monthly Labor Review (pay) [8] |
| 1999 | 453,140 | n/a | BLS OEWS 1999 [2] |
| 2000 | 492,950 | n/a | BLS OEWS 2000 [2] |
| 2001 | 532,740 | n/a | BLS OEWS 2001 [2] |
| 2002 | 526,750 | n/a | BLS OEWS 2002 [2] |
| 2003 | 538,890 | $20,670 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 552,860 | $21,120 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 599,220 | $21,300 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 603,150 | $22,140 | BLS OEWS May 2006 (employment) [3]; BLS OEWS May 2006 (pay) [10] |
| 2007 | 607,960 | $22,920 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 600,380 | $23,610 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 576,580 | $23,980 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 556,310 | $24,100 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 544,150 | $24,590 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 541,770 | $24,940 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 527,680 | $25,390 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | n/a | $25,760 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [9] |
| 2015 | 498,460 | $26,410 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 496,760 | $27,260 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 491,150 | $28,110 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 468,470 | $29,450 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 442,120 | $31,230 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 423,570 | $32,620 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 364,210 | $36,310 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 352,440 | $36,380 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 340,820 | $37,640 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 339,340 | $39,340 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 329,480 | $43,030 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (92)

### Employment series

1. [Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, Series D 355 (Bank tellers), p. 141](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1975/compendia/hist_stats_colonial-1970/hist_stats_colonial-1970p1-chD.pdf), US Census Bureau
2. BLS OES national estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [1999](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes99nat.zip), [2000](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), [2001](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes01nat.zip), [2002](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes02nat.zip)
3. 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), [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)
4. [BLS OEWS May 2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes433071.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
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. [FRASER / BLS Monthly Labor Review — financial sector clerical wages circa 1970 (estimate from documented wage series)](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/monthly-labor-review-47), Bureau of Labor Statistics / FRASER
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), [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)
10. [BLS OEWS May 2006 — Tellers (43-3071): median annual wage $22,140](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2006/may/oes433071.htm), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
11. [BLS OEWS May 2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes433071.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
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. [Wikipedia — First Bank of the United States (founded 1791; George Simpson, cashier; seven employees at founding)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Bank_of_the_United_States), Wikipedia
16. [Wikipedia — National Bank Act (1863 and 1864: created unified national banking system, standardized currency)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Bank_Act), Wikipedia
17. [Wikipedia — Glass-Steagall legislation / Banking Act of 1933 (June 16, 1933; FDIC established; separated commercial and investment banking)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_legislation), Wikipedia
18. [FRASER / BLS Monthly Labor Review — financial sector employment and labor force composition (postwar era)](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/monthly-labor-review-47), Bureau of Labor Statistics / FRASER
19. [Wikipedia — Automated teller machine (Chemical Bank Docuteller, September 2, 1969, Rockville Centre NY; Donald Wetzel / Docutel; 70% US market by 1974)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_teller_machine), Wikipedia
20. [Bessen, James, "Learning by Doing: The Real Connection Between Innovation, Wages, and Wealth" (Yale University Press, 2015; bank teller ATM paradox case study)](https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300195668/learning-by-doing/), Yale University Press
21. [Wikipedia — Online banking (Wells Fargo 1995 launch of online banking; early internet banking history)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_banking), Wikipedia
22. [Wikipedia — USAA (mobile check deposit launched 2009; first US bank to enable smartphone check deposit; patent litigation followed)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAA), Wikipedia
23. [Wikipedia — Mobile banking (Federal Reserve 2012: 21% of mobile phone owners used mobile banking; ABA 2024: 55% use mobile apps as primary banking method)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_banking), Wikipedia
24. [BLS National Employment Matrix — 43-3071 Tellers (2024-34 projections: 347,400 → 302,500, -12.9%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-3071&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

25. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 43-3071 Tellers (2025: 339.2 thousand; 2035: 294.5 thousand; -13.2%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-3071&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
26. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 43-3071 Tellers: probability 0.98, rank 683 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
27. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 43-3071.00, human-rated β 0.333)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

28. [Wikipedia — First Bank of the United States (1791 founding; George Simpson, cashier; seven employees; Stephen Girard acquisition 1812)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Bank_of_the_United_States), Wikipedia
29. [Wikipedia — National Bank Act (signed February 25, 1863; created OCC, national currency, federal bank charter system)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Bank_Act), Wikipedia
30. [Wikipedia — Glass-Steagall legislation (Banking Act of 1933, signed June 16; FDIC established; commercial/investment banking separation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_legislation), Wikipedia
31. [Wikipedia — Automated teller machine (Chemical Bank Docuteller, September 2, 1969, Rockville Centre NY; Donald Wetzel / Docutel; 70% US market by 1974; advertising slogan)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_teller_machine), Wikipedia
32. [Bessen, James, "Learning by Doing: The Real Connection Between Innovation, Wages, and Wealth" (Yale University Press, 2015; bank teller ATM paradox case study)](https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300195668/learning-by-doing/), Yale University Press
33. [Wikipedia — USAA (mobile check deposit launched 2009; first major US bank to enable smartphone check deposit; extensive patent litigation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAA), Wikipedia
34. [Wikipedia, Bank teller and Mobile banking (ABA 2024: 55% mobile-primary; Federal Reserve: 21% in 2012)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_teller), Wikipedia
35. [BLS National Employment Matrix — 43-3071 Tellers (2024-34: 347,400 → 302,500, -12.9%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-3071&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

36. [Wikipedia — First Bank of the United States (George Simpson, cashier, 1791-1812; teller as "one who counts")](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Bank_of_the_United_States), Wikipedia
37. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Loan Officers (related occupations and advancement from teller positions)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/loan-officers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Tellers (2024-34 projection: -13%)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/tellers.htm), accessed 2026-06-03
- [O\*NET 30.3 — Tellers (43-3071.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-3071.00), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Burning Glass Institute — The Case of the Vanishing Teller (2024): ~30% employment decline since 2010, job postings down two-thirds](https://www.burningglassinstitute.org/bginsights/the-case-of-the-vanishing-teller-how-bankings-entry-level-jobs-are-transforming), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-03
- [NCR Atleos — What is an Interactive Teller Machine](https://www.ncratleos.com/insights/what-is-an-interactive-teller-machine), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Diebold Nixdorf — Teller Cash Automation solutions](https://www.dieboldnixdorf.com/en-us/banking/solutions/channels/teller-automation/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Diebold Nixdorf — Interactive Teller Machines overview](https://www.dieboldnixdorf.com/en-us/banking/solutions/channels/interactive-teller-machines/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Troy Group — What Is a Universal Banker? Bank Teller Evolution](https://www.troygroup.com/blog/what-is-a-universal-banker), accessed 2026-06-03
- [ReadySetHire — Understanding the Universal Banker Role (March 2026)](https://www.readysethire.com/job-search/position-overview/universal-banker), accessed 2026-06-03
- [IBM Think — AI Fraud Detection in Banking](https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-fraud-detection-in-banking), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Kinective — Benefits of Teller Cash Recyclers and core integration](https://info.kinective.io/banking-software/the-benefits-of-teller-cash-recyclers-the-magic-that-happens-when-theyre-integrated), accessed 2026-06-03
- [FDIC — Classification of Interactive Teller Machines as Domestic Branches (2024 regulatory guidance)](https://www.fdic.gov/news/financial-institution-letters/2024/classification-interactive-teller-machines-domestic), accessed 2026-06-03

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