Sort incoming and outgoing mail, according to type and destination, by hand or by operating electronic mail-sorting and scanning devices.

“Sort incoming and outgoing mail, according to type and destination, by hand or by operating electronic mail-sorting and scanning devices.” is a core task performed by Postal Service Clerks. Among the occupation's 21 rated tasks, workers place it 15th by importance (#7 most important). About 77% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Sort materials or products. in Processing Information

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.00. Automation potential label: T3.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Sell and collect payment for products such as stamps, prepaid mail envelopes, and money orders. · importance 4.7
• Weigh letters and parcels, compute mailing costs based on type, weight, and destination, and affix correct postage. · importance 4.6
• Keep money drawers in order, and record and balance daily transactions. · importance 4.6
• Check mail to ensure correct postage and that packages and letters are in proper condition for mailing. · importance 4.5
• Register, certify, and insure letters and parcels. · importance 4.5
• Complete forms regarding changes of address, or theft or loss of mail, or for special services such as registered or priority mail. · importance 4.4
• Put undelivered parcels away, retrieve them when customers come to claim them, and complete any related documentation. · importance 4.3
• Receive letters and parcels, and place mail into bags. · importance 4.3
• Obtain signatures from recipients of registered or special delivery mail. · importance 4.3
• Respond to complaints regarding mail theft, delivery problems, and lost or damaged mail, filling out forms and making appropriate referrals for investigation. · importance 4.3
• Answer questions regarding mail regulations and procedures, postage rates, and post office boxes. · importance 4.3
• Provide assistance to the public in complying with federal regulations of Postal Service and other federal agencies. · importance 4.3
• Transport mail from one work station to another. · importance 4.2
• Rent post office boxes to customers. · importance 4.2

See all tasks on the Postal Service Clerks page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-11330,
  title  = {Sort incoming and outgoing mail, according to type and destination, by hand or by operating electronic mail-sorting and scanning devices.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-11330}
}