# Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks

> Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory. Duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products. May prepare items for shipment.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/shipping-receiving-and-inventory-clerks
- SOC code: 43-5071.00
- Career family: Office and administrative support
- Median annual pay: $45,260 (10th percentile $34,650, 90th percentile $62,190)
- Projected growth: Decline, -7.6%
- Openings a year: 61,300
- Typical entry education: High school diploma
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code CRE)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 50 |
| Investigative (I) | 4 |
| Artistic (A) | 0 |
| Social (S) | 6 |
| Enterprising (E) | 35 |
| Conventional (C) | 100 |

## What you'd do

- Getting Information (importance 83/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 81/100)
- Documenting/Recording Information (importance 72/100)
- Handling and Moving Objects (importance 72/100)
- Performing General Physical Activities (importance 71/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 67/100)
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge (importance 65/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 62/100)
- Training and Teaching Others (importance 60/100)
- Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others (importance 59/100)

## Skills

Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Time Management, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, Social Perceptiveness

## Knowledge

Administrative, Computers and Electronics, Production and Processing, Mathematics, English Language, Administration and Management, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training, Transportation, Public Safety and Security

## Also called

Backroom Associate, Booking Clerk, Break Out Man, Break Out Worker, Car Checker, Cloth Booker, Container Coordinator, Disposition Clerk, Distributing Clerk, Distribution Associate

## Related careers

- [Postal Service Clerks](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/postal-service-clerks): $62,130 median pay
- [Stockers and Order Fillers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/stockers-and-order-fillers): $37,330 median pay
- [Cargo and Freight Agents](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cargo-and-freight-agents): $52,260 median pay
- [Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/weighers-measurers-checkers-and-samplers-recordkeeping): $46,380 median pay
- [Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/postal-service-mail-sorters-processors-and-processing-machine-operators): $58,470 median pay
- [Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/production-planning-and-expediting-clerks): $59,650 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.