Postal Service Workers

Postal service workers sell postage and related products and collect, sort, and deliver mail.

Duties

Postal service workers typically do the following:

• Collect letters and parcels
• Sort incoming letters and parcels
• Sell stamps and other postal products
• Get customer signatures for registered, certified, and insured mail
• Operate various types of postal equipment
• Distribute letters and parcels

Postal service workers receive and process mail for delivery to homes, businesses, and post office boxes. Workers are classified based on the type of work they do.

The following are examples of types of postal service workers:

Postal service clerks, also called sales and services distribution associates, sell stamps, money orders, mailing envelopes and boxes, and other postal products in post offices. These workers register, certify, and insure mail, calculate and collect postage, and answer questions about postal matters. They also may help sort mail.

Postal service mail carriers deliver mail to homes and businesses in cities, towns, and rural areas. Most travel established routes, delivering and collecting mail. Mail carriers cover their routes by foot or vehicle or a combination of both. Some mail carriers collect money for postage due. Others, particularly in rural areas, sell postal products, such as stamps and money orders. Mail carriers also answer customers’ questions about postal regulations and services and, upon request, provide change-of-address cards and other postal forms.

Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators, also called mail handlers and processing clerks, prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution at post offices and mail processing centers. They load and unload postal trucks and move mail around processing centers. They also operate and adjust mail processing and sorting machinery.

Postal service workers held about 500,000 jobs in 2024. Employment in the detailed occupations that make up postal service workers was distributed as follows:

The largest employers of postal service workers were as follows:

Postal service clerks and mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators work indoors, typically in a post office. Mail carriers mostly work outdoors, delivering mail in all kinds of weather. Although mail carriers face many natural hazards, such as extreme temperatures and wet or icy roads and sidewalks, the work is not especially dangerous. However, they may experience repetitive stress injuries from lifting and bending.

Work Schedules

Most postal service workers work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. Because mail usually is delivered 6 days a week, many postal service workers must work on Saturdays. Some also work on Sundays.

Although no formal education is typically required to enter these occupations, most postal service workers have at least a high school diploma. All applicants for these jobs must pass a written exam.

The median annual wage for postal service workers was $57,870 in May 2024.

Overall employment of postal service workers is projected to grow 5 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.

About 34,500 openings for postal service workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.