Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators

Government and Public AdministrationO*NET 43-5053.00United States

Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Examine, sort, and route mail.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $58,469
Projected change: −5%
Typical education: High school diploma or less
Employment: 101.05K jobs

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Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

Clear jams in sorting equipment.
Operate various types of equipment, such as computer scanning equipment, addressographs, mimeographs, optical character readers, and bar-code sorters.
Sort odd-sized mail by hand, sort mail that other workers have been unable to sort, and segregate items requiring special handling.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $45,531
25th percentile: $48,880
50th percentile: $58,469
75th percentile: $75,026
90th percentile: $75,275

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $58,469 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

−5%projected to decline

2025101,047 jobs

2035 projected95,962 jobs

5,085 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

High school diploma or less: 93.9%
Some college: 6.1%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Mail Sorting
Mail Processing
Shipping And Receiving
Mail Distribution
Accounting
Auditing
Service Operations
Marketing
Bookkeeping
Loading And Unloading
Lifting Ability
Warehousing
Mailroom
Packaging And Labeling
Data Entry
Barcoding
Machinery
Palletizing
Pallet Jacks
Development Environment

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Operations Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01Mail Processors1,952 postings
02Mail Handler Assistants265 postings
03Mail Sorters202 postings
04Mail Handlers94 postings
05Package Handlers16 postings
06Warehouse Sorters7 postings
07Warehouse Processors5 postings
08Email Production Specialists4 postings
09Mailroom Clerks4 postings
10Order Processors4 postings
11Returns Processors4 postings
12Assemblers3 postings
13Data Processors3 postings
14Document Processors3 postings
15Marshals3 postings
16Service Processors3 postings
17Remittance Processors2 postings
18Township Managers2 postings
19Clerk Processors1 postings
20Crystal Managers1 postings

Top employers

01United States Postal Service1,942 postings
02Postal Source150 postings
03Staffmark68 postings
04Job Talent26 postings
05USA Labor Services18 postings
06Adecco11 postings
07Lyneer Staffing Solutions11 postings
08Dexian9 postings
09AppleOne7 postings
10ICONMA7 postings
11Kelly Services7 postings
12PeopleShare7 postings
13dnata7 postings
14Financial Statement Services6 postings
15Masis Staffing Solutions6 postings
16CVS Health5 postings
17Carnegie Mellon University5 postings
18Jetson Specialty Marketing Services5 postings
19State Of Connecticut5 postings
20Bluecross And Blueshield4 postings

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