How to become a data entry clerk
Official title: Data entry clerks
Also called: Data entry operator, Data input clerk, Payment entry clerk
Data entry clerks enter coded, statistical, financial and other numerical data into electronic equipment, computerized databases, spreadsheets or other data repositories using a keyboard, mouse, or optical scanner, speech recognition software or other data entry tools. They enter data into mechanical and electronic devices to perform mathematical calculations.
Main tasks
- Receiving and registering invoices, forms, records and other documents for data capture
- Entering numerical data, codes and text from source material into computer-compatible storage and processing devices
- Verifying accuracy and completeness of data and correcting entered data, if needed
- Operating bookkeeping and calculating machines
- Importing and exporting data between different database systems and software
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$19,600 a month
- About 455,200 people in 2025, and about 412,000 projected by 2028. (-9.5%)
- Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
Do you need a degree to become a data entry clerk?
Usually not. Only 24% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a data entry clerk?
Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (Annual Earnings and Hours Survey): Monthly and hourly wage percentiles by occupational group (5 groups) (Tables 220-23014, 220-23024, 220-23003) (2025 (May to June 2025), released 2026-03-23), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026