Financial clerks keep financial records, calculate bills and charges, help customers and carry out transactions. The group includes billing and posting clerks, brokerage clerks, credit clerks, gambling cage workers, insurance claims and policy processing clerks, loan interviewers, new accounts clerks, payroll clerks and procurement clerks. This is routine, rule-based information work, which places it among the most exposed jobs to generative AI.
The short answer: high exposure, with a decline projected. The ILO's 2025 index places statistical, finance and insurance clerks and accounting and bookkeeping clerks in gradient 4, its highest band, both at 0.64. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 4 percent decline from 2025 to 2035, with about 88,000 openings a year. Projections are estimates, not guarantees.
How exposed financial clerks are
The International Labour Organization scores occupations' tasks from 0 (cannot be automated with generative AI) to 1 (could be done without a human operator), and groups them into gradients from 1 to 4, with 4 the most exposed; below them sit minimal exposure and not exposed (ILO Working Paper 140, 2025).
| Occupation (ISCO-08) | ILO category | Mean task score (0 to 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Statistical, Finance and Insurance Clerks | Gradient 4 | 0.64 |
| Accounting and Bookkeeping Clerks | Gradient 4 | 0.64 |
The ILO scores groups of occupations, so these are the closest groups for financial clerks, not a score for the job title itself.
What the BLS projects
| Occupation | Projected change 2025 to 2035 | Openings a year |
|---|---|---|
| Financial clerks | Decline 4% | About 88,000 |
The BLS points to online tools that let customers serve themselves, productivity-enhancing technology, automated invoice processing software and the growth of online gambling as factors that limit demand across most types of financial clerks.
What automation is taking on
- Processing invoices automatically, as the BLS describes.
- Customers opening accounts and handling transactions online.
- Calculating bills and updating records in software.
What stays with financial clerks
- Exceptions: disputed bills, errors and cases a system cannot match.
- Customers: explaining charges and helping people who need a person.
- Controls: checking that records are accurate and follow the rules.
- Checking AI help: generated figures and records can be wrong, which NIST calls confabulation (NIST AI 600-1). See checking AI output.
How the job is changing
Routine processing is moving to software and self-service, and the remaining work leans toward exceptions and checks. Clerks who understand the systems and the rules behind them are better placed. This page is general information, not career advice.
See also will AI replace bookkeepers?, will AI replace payroll clerks? and will AI replace bank tellers?
Pay and how to get in
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual pay for financial clerks at $49,990 in May 2025, against $50,980 for all workers. The typical education needed to enter is: high school diploma or equivalent. See how this job compares in AI exposure by pay and AI exposure by education level.
Questions and answers
Will AI replace financial clerks?
The BLS projects a 4 percent decline from 2025 to 2035, citing online self-service tools, productivity technology and automated invoice processing.
How exposed are financial clerks to AI?
The closest ILO groups are in gradient 4, the highest band, at 0.64.
Are there still openings?
Yes. The BLS projects about 88,000 openings a year.
Which jobs count as financial clerks?
Billing and posting, brokerage, credit, gambling cage, insurance claims and policy, loan interviewers, new accounts, payroll and procurement clerks.