Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
Compile and record employee time and payroll data. May compute employees' time worked, production, and commission. May compute and post wages and deductions, or prepare paychecks.
153,140 people do this job in the US. $58,260 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 90%
- 5%
- 5%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 66%. Today's estimate: 76%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 21 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare and balance period-end reports, and reconcile issued payrolls to bank statements.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | 59%Half by now | |
| Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Keep track of leave time, such as vacation, personal, and sick leave, for employees.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Compile employee time, production, and payroll data from time sheets and other records.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Prepare and file payroll tax returns.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 7% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | 49%Half by now | |
| Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits accounts, and submit them to appropriate departments.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 7% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | 90%Half by now | |
| Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 42 min21 min to 1.4 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Review time sheets, work charts, wage computation, and other information to detect and reconcile payroll discrepancies.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 87%Half by now | |
| Distribute and collect timecards each pay period.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Train employees on organizations' timekeeping systems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | 98%Half by now | |
| Balance cash and payroll accounts.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping80% now, 85% by 2028
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks76% now, 88% by 2028
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers47% now, 77% by 2028
- Billing and Posting Clerks77% now, 94% by 2028
- Office Clerks, General58% now, 61% by 2028
- Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs72% now, 74% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).