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Job outlook for business office assistants in the United States
Business office assistant job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected business office assistant job growth rate is -5% from 2018-2028.
About -130,800 new jobs for business office assistants are projected over the next decade.
Business office assistant salaries have increased 16% for business office assistants in the last 5 years.
There are over 754,882 business office assistants currently employed in the United States.
There are 132,916 active business office assistant job openings in the US.
The average business office assistant salary is $31,747.
Are business office assistant jobs in demand?
Business office assistant job and salary trends over time
Business office assistant jobs over time
Business office assistant job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 754,882 | 0.22% |
| 2020 | 814,162 | 0.24% |
| 2019 | 864,284 | 0.26% |
| 2018 | 870,189 | 0.26% |
| 2017 | 869,316 | 0.26% |
Average business office assistant salary over time
Business office assistant salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $31,747 | $15.26 | +3.8% |
| 2025 | $30,588 | $14.71 | +4.0% |
| 2024 | $29,411 | $14.14 | +3.9% |
| 2023 | $28,306 | $13.61 | +3.0% |
| 2022 | $27,479 | $13.21 | +3.4% |
Business office assistant jobs by state
Most common states for business office assistants
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 739,795 | 220 | 30% |
| 2 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,330 | 24% |
| 3 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 421 | 22% |
| 4 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 229 | 22% |
| 5 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 185 | 21% |
| 6 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 601 | 19% |
| 7 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 2,127 | 18% |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,016 | 18% |
| 9 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 513 | 18% |
| 10 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 1,017 | 17% |
| 11 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 1,081 | 16% |
| 12 | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 470 | 16% |
| 13 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 1,459 | 15% |
| 14 | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 1,009 | 15% |
| 15 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 315 | 15% |
| 16 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 699 | 14% |
| 17 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 626 | 14% |
| 18 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 430 | 14% |
| 19 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 214 | 12% |
| 20 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 84 | 12% |
Most common cities for business office assistants
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden City | 2 | 7% | $35,200 |
| 2 | Jeffersonville | 2 | 4% | $28,936 |
| 3 | Wallingford | 2 | 4% | $33,842 |
| 4 | Beaumont | 3 | 3% | $29,289 |
| 5 | Southfield | 2 | 3% | $35,337 |
| 6 | Burlingame | 1 | 3% | $37,553 |
| 7 | Dearborn | 2 | 2% | $35,196 |
| 8 | Akron | 1 | 1% | $35,300 |
| 9 | Alameda | 1 | 1% | $37,532 |
| 10 | Boulder | 1 | 1% | $38,842 |
| 11 | Canton | 1 | 1% | $35,176 |
| 12 | Los Angeles | 3 | 0% | $35,550 |
| 13 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $37,917 |
Business Office Assistant job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of business office assistant experts
Penn State University - Harrisburg
Ohio University - Lancaster Campus
Drexel University
College of Charleston
Dixie State University
West Liberty University
Faiza Abbas
Lecturer of ManagementPenn State University - Harrisburg
School of Business Administration
What skills stand out on Business Office Assistant resumes?
Faiza Abbas: Business associates are usually members of a team that works together to acquire and retain clients. They are the face of a business and its first connection with people; therefore, much emphasis is placed on hiring the right person. Although the job description of a business associate will vary from one company to another, there are certain skills preferred by all recruiters. A Business Management degree might be the prerequisite, but some skills will make your resume stand out. These include good communication skills to connect effectively with clients, teamwork, a positive outlook, problem-solving capabilities, use of appropriate social media, conflict management, and emotional intelligence.
What soft skills should all Business Office Assistants possess?
Faiza Abbas: In recent years employers have placed a high value on soft skills. Soft skills, also called human skills or behavioral skills, take years to master. The technical know-how of a job can take an employee only so far. To become a star employee, you need skills that might be hard to measure but critical for success. Some of the important in-demand soft skills are:
-Critical thinking
-Collaboration
-Communication
-Perseverance
-Adaptability
-Emotional Intelligence
According to LinkedIn's 2019 Global Talent Trends report, 89 percent of recruiters say when a hire doesn't work out, it usually comes down to a lack of soft skills. An engineer might have the best solution for her client, but if she misses deadlines or doesn't take action on time, upset clientele might cost her the job. The beauty of soft skills is that they're highly transferable. Creativity, responsibility, and communication skills can be applied to any job.
A recent Yale University study found that people with emotionally intelligent supervisors-those who are self-aware and empathetic-were happier, more creative, and more innovative. On the flip side, 70 percent of the employees whose managers were identified as having little emotional intelligence said their main feelings toward work were negative.
Brandy Bailey
Career CoachOhio University - Lancaster Campus
Student Services, Career Services
What soft skills should all Business Office Assistants possess?
Brandy Bailey: Soft skills may vary depending on the employer, industry, and personal opinions. My biggest ones are communication skills, adaptability, self-awareness, teamwork, problem-solving, intercultural competency, creativity or innovation, and time management.
What's a good job out of college for Business Office Assistants?
Susan Epstein: The best job for a recent graduate is one for which her or she is passionate and prepared. The pandemic has not changed that. Taking a job that does not meet those criteria, regardless of what is going on in the world, will not be satisfying for the long term. In addition, working for an organization whose culture aligns with your own personal values is extremely important. Your first professional position sets the tone for the rest of your career. You want to ensure that there are challenging responsibilities and room for advancement. You should also take advantage of the networking opportunities within any organization you join. Feeling good about what you are doing and who you are doing it with affects not only your performance, but also the relationships you have with those around you. This is important as you pave the way for a career, as the reputation you create now will influence the way others respond to you going forward.
What type of skills will young Business Office Assistants need?
Jacob Craig Ph.D.: In school, students are often taught to work by themselves. In some cases, they are even penalized for working with others. In some rare cases, students are asked to do a little group work but only for a short amount of time, at the end of their learning in a class.
The first thing that graduates need to know is that the workplace is nearly opposite from school. Employees, especially professional, technical, and content writer jobs, are more often than not collaborative and teams-based. The added wrinkle is that office culture is unlikely to go back to pre-pandemic occupancy rates.
So graduates need to know is that odds are good that at least part of their job will be remote. And that might be the case for at least part of the time. Announcements from tech, finance, and insurance about their latest work-from-home policies keep making the news. So not only are the chances good that they'll be working in teams, their team members and co-workers won't be in the same room with them. They'll be working collaboratively through writing. This is good news for English graduates. Much of the writing someone in a professional, technical, or content writing job are products meant for public readership. Like press releases that are sent to news outlets. But all of that writing is built on a network of notes, memos, policies, and text threads meant for co-workers. Remote work just means that co-workers will be writing each other more and more often. English graduates who can make texts for public audiences and write effectively to co-workers are positioned to do well.
The second thing that students need to know is how to start and stop writing in the context of someone else's draft. They will rarely begin with a blank screen and end with a finished text.
The third thing is that it's likely small businesses will take some time to bounce back. In those workplace settings, it is likely that an employee will need to have a range of knowledge and skills because their job will combine parts multiple roles. So a copywriter in a small marketing firm might need to also know something about SEO and social analytics and visual design. In larger offices, however, jobs tend to be much more specialized and team-based. So graduates need to be comfortable working in teams where they have an assigned role, and they need to be able to receive work in-process, complete their assigned part, and hand that work off still in-process.
And finally, students need to learn how to learn new technologies. Learn just through documentation, without a human tutorial. Even if employees are exclusively using the Microsoft Suite, it will be used for writing, editing, project management. It will be used to collaborate and present. Depending on where a student studies and what classes they take, those digital pieces might not be a part of their coursework. So, at the very least, students need to know that the workforce will constantly ask them to learn new technologies and new uses for familiar technologies.
Dr. Mike Peterson Ph.D.
Department Chair and Associate Professor of EnglishDixie State University
English Department
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Business Office Assistants to find work opportunities?
Dr. Mike Peterson Ph.D.: The great thing about a degree in English is that graduates can find work anywhere: teaching, freelance writing, technical writing, content production, editing, reporting-you name it. There are ample jobs in small towns and large cities in all of these areas. English degrees are also highly valued in a variety of jobs-such as sales, public relations, marketing, and paralegal work-because employers know these applicants, from day one, will have strong skills in writing, communication, critical thinking, and creative thinking.
Dr. Darrin Cox
Professor of HistoryWest Liberty University
College of Liberal Arts
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Business Office Assistant job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Darrin Cox: The need for adaptability. Companies are going to focus more on hiring people with a wide array of skills and abilities that provide them the kind of adaptability needed for the modern workspace. It's one of the reasons why I think humanities and social science degrees will be in more demand in the coming years. At their core, these degrees are about analyzing how we interact in the social world while providing specific training in critical thinking, reasoning, and writing. Basically, employers will be looking for those who are tech savvy, but less so in terms of how to operate specific applications or technology and more so in ways that they can be adapted to best suit the needs of the company.