Secretaries & administrative assistants

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Total Workforce

3.1M

Average Age

46.6

Average Salary

$36,424

Average Male Salary

$43,633

Average Female Salary

$35,982

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Secretaries & administrative assistants are most often employed by the Elementary & secondary schools industry. The average yearly wage for Secretaries & administrative assistants was $36,424 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Secretaries & administrative assistants by wage are Pest control workers, Parts salespersons, and Carpet, floor, & tile installers & finishers.

Secretaries & administrative assistants are part of the Office & Administrative Support Occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of office & administrative support workers, Switchboard operators, including answering service, Telephone operators, Communications equipment operators, all other, Bill & account collectors, and 45 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Secretaries & administrative assistants are Greater Fairbanks, Greater Juneau, Ketchikan Gateway Borough & Road-Connected Alaska PUMA, AK, Carolina Municipio (Norte) PUMA, PR, and Norman, Oklahoma City (South) & Moore Cities PUMA, OK. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Secretaries & administrative assistants are Carr 53 PUMA, PR, Toa Alta & Vega Alta Municipios PUMA, PR, and Carolina Municipio (Norte) PUMA, PR.

Photo by Chung Ho Leung

Sales & Office Occupations Office & Administrative Support Occupations Office & Administrative Support Occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Secretaries & administrative assistants and on wages and locations for those in the field. Elementary & secondary schools is the industry that employs the most Secretaries & administrative assistants, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Secretaries & administrative assistants, by average wage, is Electronic shopping. Secretaries & administrative assistants are paid most in Ela, Freemont, Wauconda & Cuba Townships PUMA, IL but are relatively concentrated in Carr 53 PUMA, PR.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$36,424

AVERAGE SALARY

± $400

In 2017, Secretaries & administrative assistants earned an average of $36,424, $17,465 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Pest control workers make somewhat more than Secretaries & administrative assistants while Parts salespersons make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Secretaries & administrative assistants as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.341

WAGE GINI

In 2017, Secretaries & administrative assistants had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.341, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Secretaries & administrative assistants (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Secretaries & administrative assistants.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Secretaries & administrative assistants

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Secretaries & administrative assistants.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Secretaries & administrative assistants, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Hospitals, and Construction.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Secretaries & administrative assistants, by average wage, are Electronic shopping, Not specified wholesale trade, and Vending machine operators.

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Industries by Share

3.1M

2017 Workforce

± 42,779

-2.34%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 1.99%

The number of people employed as Secretaries & administrative assistants has been declining at a rate of -2.34%, from 3,175,520 people in 2016 to 3,101,232 people in 2017.

This graphic shows the share of Secretaries & administrative assistants employed by various industries. Elementary & secondary schools employs the largest share of Secretaries & administrative assistants at 9.37%, followed by Hospitals with 6.57% and Construction with 5.98%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Secretaries & administrative assistants in the US. The average age of male Secretaries & administrative assistants in the workforce is 40.4 and of female Secretaries & administrative assistants is 47, and the most common race/ethnicity for Secretaries & administrative assistants is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

179k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 10,379

2.92M

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 41,552

94.2% of Secretaries & administrative assistants are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Secretaries & administrative assistants.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Secretaries & administrative assistants

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

72.5% of Secretaries & administrative assistants are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 9.06% of Secretaries & administrative assistants, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Secretaries & administrative assistants.

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Age by Gender

40.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.914

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.202

The median age of Secretaries & administrative assistants is 46.6, and Male employees are generally 6.6 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Secretaries & administrative assistants from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Secretaries & administrative assistants is Business but a relatively high number of Secretaries & administrative assistants hold a major in Legal.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Secretaries & administrative assistants from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Secretaries & administrative assistants need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Secretaries & administrative assistants need more than the average amount of Service Orientation, Time Management, and Active Listening.