Career Trends: Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks produce financial records for organizations. They record financial transactions, update statements, and check financial records for accuracy.

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks work in offices and may do site visits. About 1 in 4 worked part time in 2014.

Most bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks need some postsecondary education and also learn some of their skills on the job. They must have basic math and computer skills, including knowledge of spreadsheets and bookkeeping software.

Employment of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks is projected to decline 8 percent from 2014 to 2024. Technological change is expected to reduce demand for these workers.

This occupation supported 1,799,800 jobs in 2012 and 1,760,300 jobs in 2014, reflecting a decline of 2.2%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 11.4% in 2022 to 2,004,500 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 1,840,700, compared with an observed value of 1,760,300, 4.4% lower than expected. This indicates current employment trends are worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to decrease by 8.3% in 2024 to 1,611,500 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 2,045,400 jobs for 2024, 26.9% higher than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation.