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Clerical support workers · code 4131

Typists and word processing operators

Typists and word processing operators type, edit and print text using typewriters, personal computers or other word processors, and record oral or written matter in shorthand. Tasks include - (a) typing written material from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings or shorthand using a computer, word processor or typewriter; (b) checking completed work for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation and formatting; (c) gathering and arranging the material to be typed, following instructions; (d) filing and storing completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintaining a computer filing system to store, retrieve or update documents; (e) taking dictation and recording other matter in shorthand; (f) reproducing the spoken word, environmental sounds and song lyrics as captions for cinema and television programming; (g) transcribing information recorded in shorthand and on sound recording equipment. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Shorthand typist - Stenographer - Typist - Word processor Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Court reporter - 3343 - Medical transcriptionist - 3344

The ILO’s highest group: nearly every task is affected. It ranks 426 of 427 for holding up against AI.

Also known as

  • typist

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

34.8
Holds up
against AI Exposed: Gradient 4

AI could take on 65.2 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 65.2 = 34.8

That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.

20.4
How hands-on
out of 100

From O*NET, matched to one US job

21.3
How fiddly
and cramped

finger skill 34 · hand skill 23.1 · cramped spaces 6.8 · averaged

Kind of hands-on work · hands-on under 50 Less than half hands-on

Less than half of this job is hands-on. Robots still matter, but for a smaller part of the work, so we don't sort it any further.

estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement

What this number leaves out This job rates 20.4 out of 100 for how hands-on it is. The score above only looks at AI tools, not robots, but for work this far from the physical that matters less.

The tasks behind the score

The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.

The task AI could do most of scores 70, while the average is 65.2. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.

  1. 70

    Checking completed work for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation and formatting

    Medium
  2. 68.5

    Filing and storing completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve or update documents

    Medium
  3. 68.5

    Reproducing the spoken word, environmental sounds and song lyrics as captions for cinema and television programming

    Medium
  4. 67.3

    Taking dictation and recording other matter in shorthand

    Medium
  5. 66.5

    Typing written material from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings or shorthand using a computer, word processor or typewriter

    Medium
  6. 60

    Transcribing information recorded in shorthand and on sound recording equipment.

    Medium
  7. 55.8

    Gathering and arranging the material to be typed, following instructions

    Medium

7 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting

Helped, or replaced?

The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.

One Australian job matches this one closely, so this is about as reliable as it gets here.

AI helps you
76
AI does it for you
81

Taking over wins by 5 points, which is rare.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 5321

Compared with similar jobs

There are 29 jobs in the “Clerical support workers” group, averaging 47. This one is below that.