Office and Administrative Support · Holland code CR

Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators

Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Examine, sort, and route mail. Load, operate, and occasionally adjust and repair mail processing, sorting, and canceling machinery. Keep records of shipments, pouches, and sacks, and perform other duties related to mail handling within the postal service. Includes postal service mail sorters and processors employed by USPS contractors.

Also called: Automation Clerk, Distribution Clerk, Mail Handler, Mail Processor, Computer Forwarding System Markup Clerk (CFS Markup Clerk), Flat Sorting Machine Clerk (FSM Clerk), Mail Handler Equipment Operator, Mail Processing Clerk.

O*NET 43-5053.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $58,470; Middle half earn $48,880 to $75,030. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 81% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Direct items according to established routing schemes, using computer-controlled keyboards or voice-recognition equipment.
Check items to ensure that addresses are legible and correct, that sufficient postage has been paid or the appropriate documentation is attached, and that items are in a suitable condition for processing.
Clear jams in sorting equipment.
Bundle, label, and route sorted mail to designated areas, depending on destinations and according to established procedures and deadlines.
Operate various types of equipment, such as computer scanning equipment, addressographs, mimeographs, optical character readers, and bar-code sorters.
Move containers of mail, using equipment, such as forklifts and automated "trains".
Open and label mail containers.
Load and unload mail trucks, sometimes lifting containers of mail onto equipment that transports items to sorting stations.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Monitoring3.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.0 / 5
Speaking3.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
Active Listening2.9 / 5
Writing2.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language3.0 / 5
Production and Processing2.5 / 5
Customer and Personal Service2.4 / 5
Administrative2.3 / 5
Administration and Management2.2 / 5
Public Safety and Security2.1 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic60
Investigative9
Artistic0
Social14
Enterprising11
Conventional82

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

mail clerk · DE Postabfertiger/Postabfertigerin · FR employé au courrier/employée au courrier

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Postal workers, mail sorters and messengers (9211)111,200 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Clerical support workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Clerical support workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€40,035
Austria	€38,296
Germany	€37,844
Netherlands	€35,854
Sweden	€33,483
Ireland	€32,144
Italy	€29,311
France	€25,943
Spain	€22,026
Portugal	€12,602
Poland	€10,250

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.19. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (43-5053).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test