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Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks

Business, Management and AdministrationO*NET 43-3051.00United States

Compile and record employee time and payroll data. May compute employees' time worked, production, and commission.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning
Median annual earnings
$57,939

50th percentile, United States

Projected change
−10.1%

2025 to 2035

Typical education
Bachelor's degree

31.8% of the workforce

Employment
155.09K jobs

Growing to 139.46K by 2035

Explore this career by location

Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.

Showing United States

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

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The work

What payroll and timekeeping clerks do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

  • Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
  • Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
  • Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
  • Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
  • Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.
  • Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.
  • Distribute and collect timecards each pay period.
  • Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records.
  • Issue and record adjustments to pay related to previous errors or retroactive increases.
  • Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees.
  • Compile employee time, production, and payroll data from time sheets and other records.
  • Keep informed about changes in tax and deduction laws that apply to the payroll process.
  • Complete time sheets showing employees' arrival and departure times.
  • Provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, benefit plans, and collective agreement provisions.
  • Conduct verifications of employment.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile
$39,132
25th percentile
$47,593
50th percentile
$57,939
75th percentile
$69,416
90th percentile
$82,167

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $57,939 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

−10.1%projected to decline
2025155,093 jobs
2035 projected139,462 jobs

15,631 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

Bachelor's degree
31.8%
Some college
30.4%
High school diploma or less
20.5%
Associate degree
17.3%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

  • Payroll Processing
  • Auditing
  • Accounting
  • Payroll Systems
  • Finance
  • Payroll Reporting
  • Payroll Tax
  • Payroll Policies and Processes
  • Payroll Regulations
  • Multi-State Payroll
  • Human Resources Information System (HRIS)
  • Process Improvement
  • Data Entry
  • Reconciliation
  • Workday (Software)
  • Payroll Administration
  • General Ledger
  • Wage Garnishment
  • Workflow Management
  • ADP Workforce Now

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

  1. 01Payroll Specialists11,020 postings
  2. 02Payroll Administrators3,473 postings
  3. 03Payroll Analysts2,578 postings
  4. 04Payroll Clerks2,292 postings
  5. 05Payroll Coordinators2,078 postings
  6. 06Payroll Assistants769 postings
  7. 07Payroll Associates609 postings
  8. 08Payroll Tax Analysts548 postings
  9. 09Human Resources/Payroll Coordinators508 postings
  10. 10Human Resources and Payroll Administrators458 postings
  11. 11Human Resources/Payroll Specialists434 postings
  12. 12Payroll Tax Specialists382 postings
  13. 13Payroll and Benefits Coordinators373 postings
  14. 14Payroll Processors317 postings
  15. 15Certified Payroll Specialists309 postings
  16. 16Property Preservation Contractors176 postings
  17. 17Bookkeepers/Payroll Specialists164 postings
  18. 18Payroll Technicians160 postings
  19. 19Human Resources Payroll Assistants154 postings
  20. 20Subcontractors145 postings

Top employers

  1. 01Robert Half3,556 postings
  2. 02Creative Financial Staffing601 postings
  3. 03Aston Carter453 postings
  4. 04Lee Hecht Harrison304 postings
  5. 05Vaco302 postings
  6. 06CFS279 postings
  7. 07Beacon Hill Staffing Group229 postings
  8. 08AppleOne226 postings
  9. 09Ledgent223 postings
  10. 10Insight Global170 postings
  11. 11Datavant161 postings
  12. 121St Choice Property Services160 postings
  13. 13GE Aerospace157 postings
  14. 14Precision Castparts148 postings
  15. 15Randstad145 postings
  16. 16Addison Group143 postings
  17. 17Costco140 postings
  18. 18Memorial Health Illinois93 postings
  19. 19ManpowerGroup88 postings
  20. 20Baker Tilly87 postings

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