AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 43-3051.00
Will AI replace Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks?
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks: AI can already handle 16 of 21 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 21 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, from most to least exposed. 16 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits accounts, and submit them to appropriate departments. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Compile employee time, production, and payroll data from time sheets and other records. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Complete, verify, and process forms and documentation for administration of benefits, such as pension plans, and unemployment and medical insurance. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Prepare and file payroll tax returns. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Distribute and collect timecards each pay period. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Issue and record adjustments to pay related to previous errors or retroactive increases. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Balance cash and payroll accounts. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Keep informed about changes in tax and deduction laws that apply to the payroll process. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Complete time sheets showing employees' arrival and departure times. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Conduct verifications of employment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, benefit plans, and collective agreement provisions. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Coordinate special programs, such as United Way campaigns, that involve payroll deductions. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Train employees on organizations' timekeeping systems. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Record employee information, such as exemptions, transfers, and resignations, to maintain and update payroll records. | Estimated | Efficient |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 21 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 20 of 21. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A standard-tier model or lower covers 92% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 153,140
- Median annual wage
- $58,260
- Middle half of earners
- $47,990 to $69,600
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- -16.7%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping 76% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure44
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks 68% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure57
- Billing and Posting Clerks 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure71
- Office Clerks, General 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure53
- Postal Service Clerks 57% skill overlap, about 15 months to move Exposure33
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks and AI
Will AI replace Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks?
AI already handles 16 of the 21 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 67 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by -16.7% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks?
67 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 1 of the 21 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 20 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records; Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits accounts, and submit them to appropriate departments; Compile employee time, production, and payroll data from time sheets and other records. They are three of the 16 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 92% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks, and what do they earn?
153,140 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $58,260 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -16.7% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/payroll-and-timekeeping-clerks
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