Employment

Administrative professionals held about 4.3 million jobs throughout the United States in 2008, ranking it among the largest occupations in the U.S. economy. Administrative professionals work in organizations of every type. Around 90 percent work in service-providing industries, ranging from education and healthcare to government and retail trade. Most of the rest work for firms engaged in manufacturing or construction. The employment of administrative professionals is expected to increase by 11 percent nationally between 2008 and 2018. Projected employment varies by occupational specialty. Increasing office automation and organizational restructuring will continue to make administrative professionals more productive in coming years.