Administrative Assistant Employment and Wage Statistics 2026

What administrative assistant employment and wage statistics show in 2026

According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, there were 3,453,100 jobs in this category in 2024. The same report gives a 2024 median annual wage of $47,460. The category spans several industries and specialized functions, so the overall median is a reference point rather than a rate for every administrative role.

To understand the broader context of these roles, we must look at the entire office and administrative support sector. The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national table reports that the total employment for office and administrative support occupations reached 17,753,430 workers. According to the same BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national table, the mean hourly wage for this entire group was $24.79, which translates to a mean annual wage of $51,560, while the median hourly wage stood at $22.81.

Within this large workforce, general administrative assistants form a major subsegment. According to the BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics report, general administrative assistants held 1,944,000 jobs in 2024. This specific group is projected to experience a slight decline to 1,913,200 jobs by 2034, representing a change of -1.6 percent, according to the BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics report. Despite this projected contraction, the BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics report estimates that there will still be 202,800 annual openings for general administrative assistants over the 2024 to 2034 decade.

Wage benchmarks for administrative support roles

Administrative wages vary by specialization and responsibility. According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, the median annual wage for the broader category was $47,460 in 2024. For general administrative assistants, the BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics report lists a median annual wage of $46,290 in 2024. Employers can use these employee figures as reference points when defining a role and compensation range.

Specialized administrative roles command different wage premiums due to the unique skills and knowledge required. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants notes that specialty medians and projections are listed for various subcategories, reflecting the distinct market values of specialized expertise. Employers must analyze these specific benchmarks rather than relying solely on the general administrative assistant median of $46,290 reported in the BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics data.

The collection method sets an important boundary around these wage benchmarks. The BLS Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025 release explains the national OEWS methods and results. The release also states that OEWS excludes self-employed workers. Organizations therefore should not treat these employee wages as contractor or virtual-assistant market rates.

Employment outlook and projected openings

The long-term outlook combines modest contraction with a large number of replacement openings. According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, the broader category is projected to have 358,300 openings per year from 2024 to 2034. The handbook says most openings will come from workers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.

Looking specifically at general administrative assistants, the BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics report projects that employment will decline from 1,944,000 jobs in 2024 to 1,913,200 jobs in 2034. This represents a projected decline of -1.6 percent over the ten-year period, according to the BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics report. However, the same BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics report projects 202,800 annual openings for general administrative assistants, highlighting that hiring managers will still need to recruit a substantial number of new administrative assistants each year.

The occupational profiles defined by O*NET help explain why these roles persist despite technological changes. According to O*NET 43-6014 Administrative Assistants, the official task and work-activity taxonomy for general administrative assistants emphasizes complex coordination and communication duties. Similarly, O*NET 43-6011 Executive Administrative Assistants outlines a skill profile focused on high-level executive support and project management. These specialized functions, along with those detailed in O*NET 43-6012 Legal Administrative Assistants and O*NET 43-6013 Medical Administrative Assistants, demonstrate that administrative roles are evolving toward higher-value tasks.

Remote-work context and telework trends

The physical location of work has become a central consideration for administrative professionals and their employers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau ACS commuting estimates released on September 22, 2025, approximately 13.3 percent of all workers worked from home in 2024. This figure represents a slight decrease from the 13.8 percent of workers who worked from home in 2023, indicating a gradual stabilization of remote work arrangements across the broader economy, according to the U.S. Census Bureau ACS commuting estimates.

Time-use data measures a broader form of home-based work. The BLS American Time Use Survey 2025, released on June 25, 2026, reports that 35 percent of employed people worked at home on days worked in 2025. This measure includes people who worked at home for only part of a workday, so it cannot be read as a fully remote employment rate. Administrative hiring teams should state the work-location requirement directly instead of relying on a broad national percentage.

Formal telework policies vary by employer and role. According to the BLS Occupational Requirements Survey civilian workers data, telework was routinely allowed for 14.7 percent of civilian workers. That survey describes job requirements, while the time-use and commuting sources measure worker behavior. Hiring managers should define telework eligibility, location, schedule, equipment, and access expectations in the role brief.

Hiring, onboarding implications, and data limits

The number of projected openings makes repeatable onboarding relevant to administrative hiring. According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, 358,300 openings are projected each year through 2034. General administrative roles can be mapped against the work activities in O*NET 43-6014 Administrative Assistants. Executive-support roles can use the separate profile in O*NET 43-6011 Executive Administrative Assistants.

Legal and medical administrative roles have separate task profiles. Employers hiring for legal departments can use O*NET 43-6012 Legal Administrative Assistants to identify role-specific duties. Healthcare employers can do the same with O*NET 43-6013 Medical Administrative Assistants. These profiles help teams distinguish general administrative work from duties that require specialty terminology or procedures.

Finally, talent acquisition professionals must remain aware of the limitations inherent in public employment data. As established in the BLS Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025 release, the federal government excludes self-employed individuals from its OEWS wage surveys. This exclusion means that the median annual wage of $46,290 reported for general administrative assistants in the BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics data does not reflect the compensation of independent virtual assistants or freelance contractors. Organizations must design their compensation and onboarding strategies using direct employee benchmarks, avoiding the mistake of applying employee wage statistics to independent contractor agreements.

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