Job outlook for office workers in the United States

Office worker job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

The projected office worker job growth rate is -5% from 2018-2028.
About -130,800 new jobs for office workers are projected over the next decade.
Office worker salaries have increased 16% for office workers in the last 5 years.
There are over 754,633 office workers currently employed in the United States.
There are 84,397 active office worker job openings in the US.
The average office worker salary is $41,003.

Are office worker jobs in demand?

No, office worker jobs are not in demand. Office worker demand is projected to decline -5% from 2018 to 2028.

Office worker job and salary trends over time

Compare the number of office worker jobs and the average office worker salary over time.

Office worker jobs over time

Office worker job growth rate over time

Year	# of jobs	% of population
2021	754,633	0.22%
2020	813,790	0.24%
2019	863,953	0.26%
2018	869,952	0.26%
2017	869,158	0.26%

Average office worker salary over time

Office worker salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$41,003	$19.71	+3.8%
2024	$39,506	$18.99	+4.0%
2023	$37,986	$18.26	+3.9%
2022	$36,558	$17.58	+3.0%
2021	$35,490	$17.06	+3.4%

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Office worker jobs by state

The map below shows you the number of office worker job openings in each state. The darker areas on the map show where office workers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average salary: Job openings:

Most common states for office workers

Rank	State	Population	# of jobs	Employment/ 1000ppl
1	South Dakota	869,666	238	27%
2	District of Columbia	693,972	177	26%
3	Oregon	4,142,776	937	23%
4	Nebraska	1,920,076	440	23%
5	Utah	3,101,833	681	22%
6	Virginia	8,470,020	1,729	20%
7	Washington	7,405,743	1,508	20%
8	Tennessee	6,715,984	1,354	20%
9	Missouri	6,113,532	1,237	20%
10	Idaho	1,716,943	344	20%
11	Delaware	961,939	184	19%
12	Florida	20,984,400	3,756	18%
13	Georgia	10,429,379	1,910	18%
14	Colorado	5,607,154	1,028	18%
15	Connecticut	3,588,184	645	18%
16	New Mexico	2,088,070	376	18%
17	West Virginia	1,815,857	335	18%
18	North Carolina	10,273,419	1,764	17%
19	South Carolina	5,024,369	872	17%
20	California	39,536,653	6,078	15%

Most common cities for office workers

Rank	City	# of jobs	Employment/ 1000ppl	Avg. salary
1	Southampton	2	4%	$43,613
2	Mount Vernon	2	3%	$44,524
3	New Rochelle	2	3%	$44,456
4	White Plains	2	3%	$44,070
5	Yonkers	2	1%	$44,428
6	Mobile	1	1%	$39,959
7	New York	2	0%	$45,474

Office Worker job outlook: Expert opinions

We spoke to office worker professors and experts from several universities and companies to get their opinions on where the office worker job market for recent graduates is heading and how young graduates entering the office worker industry can be adequately prepared. Here are their thoughts.

Our panel of office worker experts

Allison White

Ohio University

Brandy Bailey

Ohio University - Lancaster Campus

Dr. Darrin Cox

West Liberty University

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Allison White

Associate Professor

Ohio University

Website

What soft skills should all Office Workers possess?

Allison White: Employers have told me repeatedly that soft skills are often the most important. They will ask for my reference after I've gotten to know a student and been able to identify their communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. They want someone to take the initiative yet know when to ask questions. Customer service skills and confidentiality were also voiced by our internship supervisors. Verbal and non-verbal communication is a must. The applicant must be able to write well!!

What hard/technical skills are most important for Office Workers?

Allison White: In addition to production software skills, including MS Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, we often taught database skills using MS Access. Every employer has an employee database and a customer/client database that requires input and sometimes maintenance by office personnel. Keyboarding (65+ wpm), basic bookkeeping/accounting, and filing skills are a must.

Brandy Bailey

Career Coach

Ohio University - Lancaster Campus

Student Services, Career Services

What soft skills should all Office Workers 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.

Dr. Darrin Cox

Professor of History

West Liberty University

College of Liberal Arts

What Office Worker skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Darrin Cox: Reading. Then read some more. Read a wide array of materials from multiple perspectives related to your fields of interest and on topics that impact your immediate world. Reading will increase your specific knowledge in these areas, introduce you to competing interpretations, and hopefully stimulate critical thinking as you reconcile new information and perspectives into your own conclusions. Oh, and then read some more. Did I mention you should read?

Office worker jobs

Updated November 2, 2021

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