Hiring Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

What do production, planning, and expediting clerks do?

• Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments.
• Revise production schedules when required due to design changes, labor or material shortages, backlogs, or other interruptions, collaborating with management, marketing, sales, production, or engineering.
• Review documents, such as production schedules, work orders, or staffing tables, to determine personnel or materials requirements or material priorities.
• Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules.
• Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays.
• Requisition and maintain inventories of materials or supplies necessary to meet production demands.

Core tasks, O*NET OnLine, 43-5061.00.

What does it take to become one?

These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

O*NET Job Zone 2, SVP (4.0 to < 6.0). O*NET OnLine.

Employers commonly list experience with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat for this role.

What do production, planning, and expediting clerks get paid?

BLS OEWS, May 2025 publishes a wage for production, planning, and expediting clerks in 92 of the metro areas we publish data for. The median ranges from $44,100 to $81,850 a year depending on the metro, with a midpoint of $59,110. This is what employers pay, place of work, not a single national figure and not what any one person takes home.

BLS OEWS, BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-5061.

What does hiring one cost?

The same as any role: tier, not location or salary, sets the fee. Across all six tiers the published range is $6,240 to $54,340 per search. For scale, the highest median any metro we publish data for pays production, planning, and expediting clerks is $81,850 a year, place of work (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A contingency firm hiring at that level would bill roughly $16,370 to $24,555 on the first year salary alone, 20 to 30%.

Frequently asked

How fast can a production planning clerk search fill?

Typically 23 to 35 days, and typically 2 to 3x faster than a contingency search, per our recruiting partner's published figures. Both are typical rather than guaranteed.

What if the hire does not work out?

A 45-day replacement guarantee, at 50% off a repeat search for the same role.