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Clerical support workers · code 4132

Data entry clerks

Data entry clerks enter coded, statistical, financial and other numerical data into electronic equipment, computerized databases, spreadsheets or other data repositories using a keyboard, mouse, or optical scanner, speech recognition software or other data entry tools. They enter data into mechanical and electronic devices to perform mathematical calculations. Tasks include - (a) receiving and registering invoices, forms, records and other documents for data capture; (b) entering numerical data, codes and text from source material into computer-compatible storage and processing devices; (c) verifying accuracy and completeness of data and correcting entered data, if needed; (d) operating bookkeeping and calculating machines; (e) importing and exporting data between different database systems and software. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Data entry operator - Data input clerk - Payment entry clerk

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

Also known as

  • data entry clerk

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

30
Holds up
against AI Exposed: Gradient 4

AI could take on 70 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 70 = 30

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

30.6
How hands-on
out of 100

From O*NET, matched to one US job

29.1
How fiddly
and cramped

finger skill 42.9 · hand skill 25 · cramped spaces 19.5 · 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 30.6 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 73.8, while the average is 70. 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. 73.8

    Entering numerical data, codes and text from source material into computer-compatible storage and processing devices

    Medium
  2. 71.5

    Receiving and registering invoices, forms, records and other documents for data capture

    Medium
  3. 70

    Importing and exporting data between different database systems and software.

    Medium
  4. 68.5

    Verifying accuracy and completeness of data and correcting entered data, if needed

    Medium
  5. 66.3

    Operating bookkeeping and calculating machines

    Medium

5 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 47.1. This one is below that.