In large scale, enterprise class systems COBOL is still used extensively. For operations like Payroll that move huge amounts of data around, COBOL is the gold standard. Why? Other than the fact that much of the code was written a long time ago and just works, there are very few languages that can process large quantities of SQL as efficiently and as quickly as COBOL. That's what it was designed for.
Now, you might argue that some of the modern languages can process just as quickly but many businesses are reluctant to change because:
1) The COBOL code they have now has stood the test of time. It has been battle tested. It's rock solid.
2) Many of the processes that COBOL handles are considered to be "mission critical" applications. If something goes wrong it will cause big headaches.
3) The investment required, in time and resources, does not justify the return.
So COBOL will probably continue to be around for a long time. What's it like to program in COBOL? It's wordy, procedural and in short not very sexy. But it's a good skill to have.
To be successful at COBOL it's not enough to just know the syntax. To be valuable to an employer you also need to know the business processes and rules that need to be implemented in the code. If you are going to program COBOL for a Payroll system you better know Payroll inside and out. If you can get to that level then you can have a very successful career.