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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.
Other titles employers use
Payroll Assistant · Payroll Clerk · Payroll Coordinator · Payroll Representative · Payroll Specialist · Payroll Technician · Personnel Assistant · Personnel Technician
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Verify attendance, hours worked, and pay adjustments, and post information onto designated records.
- Process and issue employee paychecks and statements of earnings and deductions.
- Compute wages and deductions, and enter data into computers.
- Process paperwork for new employees and enter employee information into the payroll system.
- 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.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to organizing and persuading work.
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
- Persuading
- Leading, selling, starting projects, or making a case
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Mathematics
- Writing
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
Subjects to know
- Administrative
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Economics and Accounting
- Personnel and Human Resources
Useful strengths
- Oral Comprehension
- Written Comprehension
- Written Expression
- Near Vision
- Oral Expression
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 2.7 | Largely your own space |
| On your feet | 2.0 | Mostly seated |
| Talking face to face | 4.8 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 3.0 | Little of the day |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a high school diploma. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- A four-year degree 32%
- A certificate or some college 30%
- High school or less 21%
- A two-year degree 17%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Time accounting software
- Accounting software
- Electronic mail software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Presentation software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 21,100
- Job openings each year
- 1,960
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- −12.4%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 21,100 | 1,960 | −12.4% |
| Texas | 13,300 | 1,290 | −6.1% |
| New York | 11,300 | 70 | 6.4% |
| Florida | 9,810 | 960 | −4.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 5,930 | 540 | −16.1% |
| Illinois | 5,090 | 460 | −17.0% |
| Washington | 4,570 | 500 | 6.5% |
| Ohio | 4,420 | 400 | −17.5% |
| New Jersey | 4,040 | 360 | −16.7% |
| Arizona | 3,800 | 370 | −6.2% |
| North Carolina | 3,700 | 350 | −11.9% |
| Indiana | 3,600 | 330 | −16.1% |
| Georgia | 3,380 | 320 | −9.9% |
| Tennessee | 3,370 | 330 | −2.3% |
| Michigan | 3,120 | 280 | −18.1% |
| Missouri | 2,930 | 270 | −16.0% |
| Colorado | 2,420 | 230 | −8.0% |
| Minnesota | 2,340 | 210 | −14.9% |
| Virginia | 2,320 | 210 | −15.0% |
| Maryland | 2,270 | 210 | −13.0% |
| Oklahoma | 2,260 | 210 | −14.4% |
| Wisconsin | 2,260 | 210 | −13.7% |
| Oregon | 2,100 | 200 | −11.0% |
| Utah | 1,870 | 190 | 1.6% |
| Kentucky | 1,830 | 170 | −16.4% |
| Louisiana | 1,750 | 160 | −15.0% |
| Connecticut | 1,620 | 150 | −11.5% |
| Nevada | 1,570 | 150 | −5.4% |
| South Carolina | 1,360 | 130 | −8.7% |
| Kansas | 1,210 | 110 | −17.1% |
| Nebraska | 1,190 | 110 | −11.9% |
| Arkansas | 1,060 | 100 | −13.8% |
| Alabama | 1,010 | 90 | −14.4% |
| Mississippi | 930 | 90 | −13.1% |
| Massachusetts | 920 | 90 | −15.6% |
| Puerto Rico | 870 | 80 | −10.3% |
| Iowa | 820 | 80 | −13.7% |
| Idaho | 800 | 80 | −7.0% |
| New Hampshire | 770 | 70 | −12.5% |
| West Virginia | 710 | 70 | −4.1% |
| New Mexico | 690 | 70 | −8.0% |
| Alaska | 570 | 60 | 5.6% |
| Rhode Island | 480 | 40 | −12.7% |
| Maine | 470 | 40 | −19.0% |
| Montana | 450 | 40 | −8.2% |
| Delaware | 330 | 30 | −15.4% |
| District of Columbia | 330 | 30 | −13.2% |
| South Dakota | 310 | 30 | −8.8% |
| North Dakota | 250 | 20 | −13.8% |
| Wyoming | 230 | 20 | −8.0% |
| Vermont | 140 | 10 | −12.5% |
| Guam | 70 | 10 | — |
| Virgin Islands | 20 | 0 | −33.3% |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
Western Governors University
- Degrees each year
- 1,301
- Admit rate
- Not reported
- Annual cost after aid
- $13,000
Southern New Hampshire University
- Degrees each year
- 797
- Admit rate
- 96%
- Annual cost after aid
- $37,000
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
- Degrees each year
- 525
- Admit rate
- 50%
- Annual cost after aid
- $6,000
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Degrees each year
- 352
- Admit rate
- 44%
- Annual cost after aid
- $8,000
Drexel University
- Degrees each year
- 333
- Admit rate
- 78%
- Annual cost after aid
- $35,000
Texas A & M University-College Station
- Degrees each year
- 298
- Admit rate
- 63%
- Annual cost after aid
- $17,000
Ohio State University-Main Campus
- Degrees each year
- 297
- Admit rate
- 51%
- Annual cost after aid
- $10,000
California State University-Northridge
- Degrees each year
- 257
- Admit rate
- 93%
- Annual cost after aid
- $8,000
Compare every college offering accounting and related services