# Postal Service Clerks

> Perform any combination of tasks in a United States Postal Service (USPS) post office, such as receive letters and parcels; sell postage and revenue stamps, postal cards, and stamped envelopes; fill out and sell money orders; place mail in pigeon holes of mail rack or in bags; and examine mail for correct postage. Includes postal service clerks employed by USPS contractors.

- **SOC code:** 43-5051.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-5051-00
- **Also known as:** Clerk, Postal Clerk, Sales and Service Associate (SSA), Window Clerk, Bulk Mail Technician, Distribution Clerk, Part Time Flexible Clerk (PTF Clerk), Sales and Distribution Clerk
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Sell and collect payment for products such as stamps, prepaid mail envelopes, and money orders.
- Weigh letters and parcels, compute mailing costs based on type, weight, and destination, and affix correct postage.
- Keep money drawers in order, and record and balance daily transactions.
- Check mail to ensure correct postage and that packages and letters are in proper condition for mailing.
- Register, certify, and insure letters and parcels.
- Complete forms regarding changes of address, or theft or loss of mail, or for special services such as registered or priority mail.
- Sort incoming and outgoing mail, according to type and destination, by hand or by operating electronic mail-sorting and scanning devices.
- Put undelivered parcels away, retrieve them when customers come to claim them, and complete any related documentation.
- Receive letters and parcels, and place mail into bags.
- Obtain signatures from recipients of registered or special delivery mail.
- Respond to complaints regarding mail theft, delivery problems, and lost or damaged mail, filling out forms and making appropriate referrals for investigation.
- Answer questions regarding mail regulations and procedures, postage rates, and post office boxes.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Stock lobby with retail merchandise.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Speech Recognition _(ability)_
- Speech Clarity _(ability)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Windows _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Finger Dexterity _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Windows _(hot technology)_
- Budgeting software
- Delivery operations information system DOIS
- Electronic Time Clock ETC
- Inventory tracking software
- NCR Advanced Store
- Time and Attendance Collection System TACS

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 50th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 34th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 43rd percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 74th percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 89th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -3.5% growth (Declining); 6.1k annual openings; 74.2k → 71.6k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $61,630; 78,060 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-5051-00_