All careersBusiness & finance

Human Resources Assistant

$50,610
median / year
$37,340 – $68,280
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Maintain employee records, process paperwork for hiring and benefits, and answer routine staff questions.

You may also see this posted as: Human Resources Administrative Assistant (HR Administrative Assistant), Human Resources Assistant (HR Assistant), Human Resources Associate (HR Associate), Personnel Clerk.

Where you work

Business and HR offices

The hours

Full-time, daytime

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation, including staffing, recruitment, training, grievances, performance evaluations, classifications, and employee leaves of absence.
  • Record data for each employee, including such information as addresses, weekly earnings, absences, amount of sales or production, supervisory reports on performance, and dates of and reasons for terminations.
  • Explain company personnel policies, benefits, and procedures to employees or job applicants.
  • Provide assistance in administering employee benefit programs and worker's compensation plans.
  • Answer questions regarding examinations, eligibility, salaries, benefits, and other pertinent information.

Good fit if you like…

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

Social

helping, teaching, caring for, or supporting other people

O*NET job zone 3 of 5

Medium preparation—often vocational training, an associate degree, or substantial experience—is usually needed.

Work styles that matter most

DependabilityAttention to DetailIntegrityCooperation

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Applicant tracking softwareMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft Word

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$50,610
per year
Hourly median
$24.33
per hour
What most earn
$37,340–$68,280
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~9,000
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
-7.1%
Declining
Working in the U.S.
90,220
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

BLS estimates 0.3% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

Associate degree

Training path: Associate degree.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: None.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

RecordkeepingDiscretionOrganizationCommunication

The honest take

Automation is shrinking the role, but it stays a common way into human resources with a two-year degree.

Standard Occupational Classification 43-4161. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.