# Postal Service Mail Carriers

> Sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Deliver mail on established route by vehicle or on foot. Includes postal service mail carriers employed by USPS contractors.

- **SOC code:** 43-5052.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-43-5052-00
- **Also known as:** City Letter Carrier, Letter Carrier, Mail Carrier, Rural Carrier Associate (RCA), City Carrier, City Carrier Assistant (CCA), City Mail Carrier, Rural Carrier
- **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):
- Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.
- Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
- Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes.
- Sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence.
- Deliver mail to residences and business establishments along specified routes by walking or driving, using a combination of satchels, carts, cars, and small trucks.
- Meet schedules for the collection and return of mail.
- Register, certify, and insure parcels and letters.
- Sign for cash-on-delivery and registered mail before leaving the post office.
- Hold mail for customers who are away from delivery locations.
- Turn in money and receipts collected along mail routes.
- Leave notices telling patrons where to collect mail that could not be delivered.
- Maintain accurate records of deliveries.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Public Safety and Security _(knowledge)_
- Sales and Marketing _(knowledge)_
- Information Ordering _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(transferable_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_

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

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Windows _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Address Management System AMS
- Automated Data Collection System ADCS
- Delivery operations information system DOIS
- Delivery Routing System DRS
- Electronic Time Clock ETC
- End of Run Report EOR
- Time and Attendance Collection System TACS

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 26th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 15th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 29th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 40th percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 57th 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); 20.6k annual openings; 319.4k → 308.1k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $57,490; 336,040 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Autonomy median:** 3.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Answer customers' questions about postal services and regulations. _(0.4% of measured AI use)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me answer customers' questions about postal services and regulations.

## 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-43-5052-00_