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The differences between sales clerks and clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a clerk has an average salary of $31,163, which is higher than the $25,739 average annual salary of a sales clerk.
The top three skills for a sales clerk include customer service, stock shelves and sales floor. The most important skills for a clerk are basic math, math, and data entry.
| Sales Clerk | Clerk | |
| Yearly salary | $25,739 | $31,163 |
| Hourly rate | $12.37 | $14.98 |
| Growth rate | - | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 372,651 | 80,311 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
A sales clerk is responsible for assisting customers in purchasing products, responding to customer inquiries, and providing product recommendations. Sales clerks require excellent customer service and communication skills to offer the best services to the customers and maintain good customer feedback for the business. They also check inventories, request supplies as needed, and organize product displays on the appropriate shelves. A sales clerk must have strong verbal communication skills to manage customer concerns and excellent time-management skills to perform tasks within the fast-paced work environment.
Clerks are responsible for many of the general administrative tasks in the office. They are in charge of manning office telephone lines, managing incoming and outgoing mails, filing paperwork and other needed records, scheduling and documenting meetings, typing out documents when needed, disseminating memos and other official announcements, and keeping an inventory of office equipment and supplies. Clerks should have good office skills, communication skills, business writing skills, and time management skills. They should also be able to treat any document or paperwork they handle with confidentiality.
Sales clerks and clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Clerk | Clerk | |
| Average salary | $25,739 | $31,163 |
| Salary range | Between $16,000 And $39,000 | Between $24,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Hawaii Pacific Health | University of Massachusetts Boston |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a sales clerk and a clerk in terms of educational background:
| Sales Clerk | Clerk | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between sales clerks' and clerks' demographics:
| Sales Clerk | Clerk | |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7% | Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 6.8% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 7.7% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |