Information Clerk - Unskilled Reasoning Level 4

Every once in a while, we get information clerk in response to a light exertion, occasional fingering residual functional capacity.  The free DOT-SCO summary report on Occu Collect confirms the basics:

237.367-018 INFORMATION CLERK

Industry: (motor trans.; r.r. trans.; water trans.

Reasoning: 4

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

CL

BA

ST

KN

CO

CW

RE

HA

FI

FE

TA

HE

TS

NA

FA

DP

AC

CV

FV

N

N

N

N

N

N

F

F

O

N

C

C

N

F

N

N

N

N

N

APTITUDES:

G	V	N	S	P	Q	K	F	M	E	C
3	2	3	4	4	3	4	3	4	5	5

SOC: 43-4171.00 Receptionists and Information Clerks

The highlights of the occupation extracted from the report is the three-industry designation; reasoning level 4; occasional fingering; and constant talking/hearing. The aptitudes describe the work as requiring average general learning ability, above average verbal, average clerical, and average finger dexterity. Any limitation in dealing with the public, below average academic performance, less than stellar verbal communication, or a history of demonstrated clerical perception should knock this occupation out of the running.  The occasional fingering is also betrayed by the average finger dexterity.  This is the quantitative (occasional) versus qualitative (average dexterity) debate.  If a person truly has a limitation to occasional fingering, that implies some loss of ability to use the hands well for dexterity purposes.

Examples of average finger dexterity from the Revised Hanndbook for Analyzing Jobs include (1) feeding a tungsten filament in a light bulb; (2) taking dictation by shorthand; (3) installing, maintaining, and services a communication system; (4) cutting and styling hair; (5) operating a look; (6) constructing and repairing dental appliances; and (7) welding metal parts together.  It is important to develop evidence of a lack of capacity for those functions if a vocational expert identifies this or any other occupation with finger dexterity level 3.  

The other component of this occupation rests in the DOT description -- the industry designation.  Receptionists and information clerks are generally unskilled but has a typical requirement of a high school diploma or equivalent.  

43-4171 Receptionists and information clerks

Typical Education Needed	High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
Typical On-The-Job Training Needed to Attain Competency	Short-term on-the-job training
2016 Employment	1,053,700

Employment Projections by Industry: 
https://www.bls.gov/emp/ind-occ-matrix/occ-xlsx/occ-43-4171.xlsx

The employment projections report that transportation and warehousing (NAICS 48-490) employ 6,500 receptionists and information clerks. Air transportation and transit and ground passenger transportation amount to 1,000 jobs total.  (NAICS 481000 and 485000).  Scenic and sightseeing transportation and support activities for transportation (NAICS 487-80) employ an additional 2,000 receptionists and information clerks.  An estimate that does not start there ignore the industry designation in the DOT and therefore has an apparent conflict with the DOT -- if you present the employment projections.  

Finally, the ORS confirms that 7% of jobs are SVP 1 and 46% of jobs in this group are SVP 2.  The rest are semi-skilled or skilled.  Receptionists and information clerks require a high school education or equivalent in 81.8% of jobs.  And it isn't until we get to the 75th percentile that receptionists and information clerks stand more than 1/3d of the day and then just 2.8 hours per day.  The work does permit a sit-stand option in 59.7% of jobs.  I pulled the data from the Occu Collect ORS report (education, training, and experience and then physical demands).  

Just because the vocational expert identified jobs doesn't mean that we are through.  The SCO, aptitudes, industry designation, and the ORS provide paths to removing this occupation from the list.