# File Clerks

US SOC code 43-4071. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/43-4071

Also called: Records clerk, Medical records clerk, Claims clerk, Records custodian, Document management clerk.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **73,440** US file clerks, with median pay of **$43,600** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **249,270**, in May 2003. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/03/art3full.pdf) of **26,000** from 1910, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for file clerks: OCR and optical character recognition at scale, 2015 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 15.8% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-4071&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **47.1%** 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)
- **0.97** 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 0.97. BLS counted **152,920** of these jobs in May 2013 and **73,440** in May 2025 (-52%, a change derived by Future History).

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.

## File Clerks employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1893
- Latest US employment: 73,440 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $43,600 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [7]
- Outlook: -15.8% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [23]

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1910 | 26,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Estimate of US file clerks c.1910 [1] |
| 1940 | 150,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Estimate of US file clerks c.1940 [2] |
| 1956 | n/a | $2,600 (estimate) | Est., Estimate of mid-1950s file-clerk annual… [6] |
| 1970 | 272,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1970 [3] |
| 1990 | 280,000 | n/a | Decennial Census [4] |
| 2003 | 249,270 | $20,470 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 242,640 | $21,030 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 229,830 | $21,430 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 223,090 | $22,090 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 214,590 | $23,010 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 204,760 | $23,800 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 188,510 | $24,730 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 174,910 | $25,090 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 165,250 | $25,630 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 158,580 | $26,190 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 152,920 | $26,810 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 148,280 | $27,580 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 140,560 | $27,850 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 130,950 | $29,090 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 118,840 | $30,120 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 110,020 | $31,700 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 102,300 | $32,710 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 91,560 | $34,090 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 85,460 | $36,360 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 87,250 | $37,290 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 82,290 | $38,130 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 78,980 | $41,270 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 73,440 | $43,600 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (85)

### Employment series

1. [Estimate of US file clerks c.1910, derived from clerical-occupation growth data; BLS MLR context (Wyatt & Hecker, 2006)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/03/art3full.pdf), Future History estimate (derived from BLS/Census clerical data)
2. [Estimate of US file clerks c.1940, informed by Craig Robertson, 'The Filing Cabinet' (via Northeastern University News, 2021)](https://news.northeastern.edu/2021/10/14/history-of-the-filing-cabinet/), Future History estimate (secondary literature: Robertson / Northeastern)
3. [IPUMS USA — Occupation Codes and Documentation (1970 Census occupation code 394, file clerks)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/97occup.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
4. [IPUMS USA — Occupation Codes and Documentation (Census cross-walk for clerical occupations)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/chapter4/chapter4.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
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. [Estimate of mid-1950s file-clerk annual earnings, approximated from BLS occupational/clerical wage data (summarized by Univ. of Missouri Libraries prices-and-wages guide)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), Future History estimate (derived from BLS 1950s clerical wage surveys)
7. 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

8. [Northeastern University News — "The Surprising History of the Lowly Filing Cabinet" (Craig Robertson, 2021)](https://news.northeastern.edu/2021/10/14/history-of-the-filing-cabinet/), Northeastern University
9. [Back Then History — "The History of Filing Cabinets" (vertical cabinet adoption, Library Bureau, 1893)](https://www.backthenhistory.com/articles/the-history-of-filing-cabinets), Back Then History
10. [Society of American Archivists — Glossary citation: Melvil Dewey and the vertical filing system](https://www2.archivists.org/glossary/citation/melvil-dewey-the-inventor-of-the-dewey-decimal-system-adapted-the-idea-of-the-libr), Society of American Archivists
11. [Wikipedia — Xerox 914 (first plain-paper photocopier, introduced September 1959)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_914), Wikipedia
12. [Wikipedia — IBM Selectric typewriter (introduced 1961)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Selectric_typewriter), Wikipedia
13. [Wikipedia — IBM Personal Computer (introduced August 12, 1981)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer), Wikipedia
14. [Wikipedia — Novell NetWare (first version 1983; dominant LAN OS through the 1990s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetWare), Wikipedia
15. [Wikipedia — Enterprise content management (history of ECM platforms including Documentum and the shift to integrated document management suites)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_content_management), Wikipedia
16. [Wikipedia — Microsoft SharePoint (launched 2001)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SharePoint), Wikipedia
17. [Laserfiche — About (founded 1976 by Nien-Ling Wacker, enterprise content management and document management platform)](https://www.laserfiche.com/about/), Laserfiche
18. [Wikipedia — Optical character recognition (OCR history and commercial development)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_character_recognition), Wikipedia
19. [Wikipedia — Dropbox (founded 2007, launched June 2008)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropbox,_Inc.), Wikipedia
20. [DocuWare — Intelligent Indexing: automated metadata extraction via OCR and machine learning](https://start.docuware.com/docuware-intelligent-indexing), DocuWare
21. [Laserfiche 2026 -- Smart Fields AI Data Capture launch announcement (Business Wire, January 2026)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260128228490/en/Laserfiche-Expands-AI-Data-Capture-with-Auto-Classification-to-Transform-Data-into-Business-Intelligence), Laserfiche / Business Wire
22. [O\*NET 43-4071.00 -- File Clerks (current tools and occupation profile)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-4071.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Forecasts and exposure studies

23. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 43-4071 File clerks (2025: 76.2 thousand; 2035: 64.2 thousand; -15.8%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-4071&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
24. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 43-4071 File Clerks: probability 0.97, rank 662 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
25. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 43-4071.00, human-rated β 0.471)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

26. [Back Then History -- "The History of Filing Cabinets" (1893 Columbian Exposition exhibit)](https://www.backthenhistory.com/articles/the-history-of-filing-cabinets), Back Then History
27. [Northeastern University News -- "The Surprising History of the Lowly Filing Cabinet" (Craig Robertson, 2021)](https://news.northeastern.edu/2021/10/14/history-of-the-filing-cabinet/), Northeastern University
28. [Wikipedia -- Social Security Administration (established 1935 by the Social Security Act)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Administration), Wikipedia
29. [Wikipedia -- Xerox 914 (introduced 1959; over $800 million revenue by 1965)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_914), Wikipedia
30. [Wikipedia -- Privacy Act of 1974 (federal records management and access-control framework)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_Act_of_1974), Wikipedia
31. [Wikipedia -- SharePoint (launched 2001; dominant enterprise content management platform)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SharePoint), Wikipedia
32. [BLS OEWS 2020 -- Office and Administrative Support Occupations employment trends (COVID-19 impact year)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/oes_nat.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

33. [Back Then History -- "The History of Filing Cabinets" (filing clerks emerged from general office helpers)](https://www.backthenhistory.com/articles/the-history-of-filing-cabinets), Back Then History

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — File Clerks (43-4071.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-4071.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Information Clerks (2024-34 projections)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/information-clerks.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Goldman Sachs 2023 — The Potentially Large Effects of AI on Economic Growth](https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/generative-ai-could-raise-global-gdp-by-7-percent), accessed 2026-06-05
- [DocuWare — Intelligent Document Processing overview](https://start.docuware.com/intelligent-document-processing), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Laserfiche 2026 — Smart Fields AI Data Capture launch announcement](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260128228490/en/Laserfiche-Expands-AI-Data-Capture-with-Auto-Classification-to-Transform-Data-into-Business-Intelligence), accessed 2026-06-05
- [DocuWare — Intelligent Indexing: automated metadata extraction from scanned documents](https://start.docuware.com/docuware-intelligent-indexing), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Microsoft 365 Copilot SharePoint, AI reasoning over metadata for document findability (2025)](https://informationexp.com/microsoft-blog/part-2-copilot-readiness-document-readiness/), accessed 2026-06-05

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