Coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments of an establishment according to production schedule. Duties include reviewing and distributing production, work, and shipment schedules; conferring with department supervisors to determine progress of work and completion dates; and compiling reports on progress of work, inventory levels, costs, and production problems.
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Licensing, certifications and working conditions
State licensing. CareerOneStop's licensing data records no state license for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks, which usually means it is not a licensed occupation. Requirements can still vary by employer and state.
Certifications. CareerOneStop directly links 6 professional certifications to Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks. 1 of them are in CareerOneStop's "Core" group, for example: Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP). Certifications are voluntary credentials offered by the organizations named; listing one is not an endorsement.
Working conditions. On average, workers stand or walk about 2.2 hours and sit about 5.8 hours per day. For 62.5% of workers the job requires sedentary strength. Shares of workers who interact with the general public (62.6%), have a consistently fast work pace (36.3%), cannot pause their work (6.0%), and are exposed to the outdoors (14.2%). From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Requirements Survey (2023 estimates); figures describe the occupation on average.
Sources: CareerOneStop (licenses and certifications), part of the CareerOneStop suite of web products, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (working conditions, wages). MajorPays has reorganized this information; these agencies have not approved or endorsed it. See it interactively, with state-by-state detail →
More data on this career
Pay by education level. Among full-time, year-round production, planning, and expediting clerks ages 25 to 64, median yearly pay is $58,900 with a high school diploma or GED, $68,000 with some college or an associate's degree, $79,200 with a bachelor's degree and $97,500 with a master's degree or higher (Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2024 dollars). Pay differs for many reasons besides education, such as experience, employer and location.
Industries that employ this career. The largest shares of production, planning, and expediting clerks work in Manufacturing (45%), Retail Trade (7%), Transportation and Warehousing (6%) and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (6%) (Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2024).
Where the jobs are, and what they pay by industry. Nationwide, the industries that employ the most production, planning, and expediting clerks are Management of Companies and Enterprises (6% of the jobs counted, median pay $76,450), Warehousing and Storage (4% of the jobs counted, median pay $50,490), Machinery Manufacturing (3% of the jobs counted, median pay $60,740), Employment Services (2% of the jobs counted, median pay $49,830) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Among large industries, the highest median pay is in Management of Companies and Enterprises ($76,450), Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals ($63,120), Machinery Manufacturing ($60,740). Pay differs by industry for many reasons, including the mix of jobs and where employers are located.
What workers studied. Among production, planning, and expediting clerks with a bachelor's degree or higher, the most common fields of the bachelor's degree are Business Management and Administration (10%), General Business (9%), Marketing and Marketing Research (5%) and Operations Logistics and E-Commerce (3%) (Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2024).
Injury and illness rates. For production, planning, and expediting clerks, employers reported 16.7 nonfatal injury and illness cases with days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers, compared with 94.6 for all U.S. workers; the median case kept the worker away 5 days (all workers: 8) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023-2024). Rates reflect the work setting as well as the occupation.
Union membership. In the broad group "Office and administrative support", which includes this career, 8.7% of wage and salary workers belong to a union (all U.S. workers: 10.0%); median weekly pay is $1,145 for union members and $963 for workers not in a union (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025). This is a group figure, not specific to production, planning, and expediting clerks.
Employer benefits. In the broad group "Office and administrative support", which includes this career, 78% of civilian workers had access to an employer retirement plan, 80% had access to employer medical care benefits, and 88% had paid sick leave, 88% paid vacation and 90% paid holidays (all civilian workers: 75%, 74%, 83%, 77% and 79%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, March 2026). This is a group figure, not specific to production, planning, and expediting clerks, and having access to a benefit does not mean every worker uses it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not endorsed this presentation. Employers spent about $38.27 per hour worked on total compensation for the occupational group "Office and administrative support" in June 2026 ($25.47 in wages and salaries and $12.80 in benefits, 33.5% of the total; all civilian workers: $49.46, with 31.6% in benefits) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation).
Work environment. In O*NET's survey of workers in this occupation, the conditions most often placed at the two highest levels for production, planning, and expediting clerks are: face-to-face discussions with individuals and within teams (100%), work with or contribute to a work group or team (95%), importance of being exact or accurate (95%), time pressure (94%), freedom to make decisions (93%), determine tasks, priorities and goals (91%). Each percentage is the share of respondents choosing the top two levels for that condition (for example 'most of the time' or 'continually'), so it describes how common the condition is in the job, not how a particular workplace is (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Typical preparation. In O*NET's survey of workers in this occupation, for related work experience, the most common answer (30% of 19 respondents) was "over 1 year, up to and including 2 years"; for on-site or in-plant training, the most common answer (29% of 21 respondents) was "up to and including 1 month"; for on-the-job training, the most common answer (41% of 21 respondents) was "over 6 months, up to and including 1 year". These are what workers report is needed to do the job; employers' requirements and individual paths vary (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Related careers. O*NET lists these occupations as similar to production, planning, and expediting clerks in the work done and the skills used: Project Management Specialists, Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks, First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand, First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers, Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping, First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers, First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers, Procurement Clerks (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Pay by state. See what production, planning, and expediting clerks earn in each state, with the pay range and number of jobs: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks salary by state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025).
Compare production, planning, and expediting clerks with other careers (pay, growth, openings and education side by side).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 PUMS (MajorPays' own estimates from the survey; Census is credited as the source of the original data and has not endorsed them); BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; BLS Current Population Survey; BLS National Compensation Survey (employee benefits); HRSA National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (LCA disclosure data, FY2025). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; these agencies have not approved or endorsed them. See it interactively →