Occupations · Office and Administrative Support
Correspondence Clerks
Compose letters or electronic correspondence in reply to requests for merchandise, damage claims, credit and other information, delinquent accounts, incorrect billings, or unsatisfactory services. Duties may include gathering data to formulate reply and preparing correspondence.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 43-4021.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 74% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $41,460 | 510 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $46,670 | 390 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $48,840 | 320 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $46,120 | 200 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $52,830 | 160 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $58,260 | 70 |
| Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC | $38,370 | 70 |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | $47,750 | 60 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY | $47,840 | 60 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $52,000 | 50 |
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | $49,800 | 50 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $47,850 | 50 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Ensure that money collected is properly recorded and secured.
- Maintain files and control records to show correspondence activities.
- Read incoming correspondence to ascertain nature of writers' concerns and to determine disposition of correspondence.
- Gather records pertinent to specific problems, review them for completeness and accuracy, and attach records to correspondence as necessary.
- Prepare documents and correspondence, such as damage claims, credit and billing inquiries, invoices, and service complaints.
- Process orders for goods requested in correspondence.
- Compile data from records to prepare periodic reports.
- Compose letters in reply to correspondence concerning such items as requests for merchandise, damage claims, credit information requests, delinquent accounts, incorrect billing, or unsatisfactory service.
- Present clear and concise explanations of governing rules and regulations.
- Review correspondence for format and typographical accuracy, assemble the information into a prescribed form with the correct number of copies, and submit it to an authorized official for signature.
- Compute costs of records furnished to requesters, and write letters to obtain payment.
- Type acknowledgment letters to persons sending correspondence.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2023-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2023-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning.
Now listed 9
No longer listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| office clerk | 4110.1 | close |
| receptionist | 4226.2 | close |
| administrative assistant | 3343.1 | close |
| typist | 4131.1 | close |
| foreign language correspondence clerk | 4419.2 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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