AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 43-5051.00
Will AI replace Postal Service Clerks?
Postal Service Clerks: AI can already handle 1 of 19 tasks; the work mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample: send this role and up to nine others, and a founder sends a board-pack PDF within two business days.
Every task, scored
The 19 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Postal Service Clerks, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sort incoming and outgoing mail, according to type and destination, by hand or by operating electronic mail-sorting and scanning devices. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Sell and collect payment for products such as stamps, prepaid mail envelopes, and money orders. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Weigh letters and parcels, compute mailing costs based on type, weight, and destination, and affix correct postage. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Keep money drawers in order, and record and balance daily transactions. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Check mail to ensure correct postage and that packages and letters are in proper condition for mailing. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Register, certify, and insure letters and parcels. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Complete forms regarding changes of address, or theft or loss of mail, or for special services such as registered or priority mail. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Put undelivered parcels away, retrieve them when customers come to claim them, and complete any related documentation. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Receive letters and parcels, and place mail into bags. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Obtain signatures from recipients of registered or special delivery mail. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Respond to complaints regarding mail theft, delivery problems, and lost or damaged mail, filling out forms and making appropriate referrals for investigation. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Answer questions regarding mail regulations and procedures, postage rates, and post office boxes. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Provide assistance to the public in complying with federal regulations of Postal Service and other federal agencies. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Transport mail from one work station to another. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Rent post office boxes to customers. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Provide customers with assistance in filing claims for mail theft, or lost or damaged mail. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Feed mail into postage canceling devices or hand stamp mail to cancel postage. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Cash money orders. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Order retail items and other supplies for office use. | Estimated | Standard |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 19 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 19 of 19. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 85% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 73,720
- Median annual wage
- $62,130
- Middle half of earners
- $56,740 to $70,890
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- -3.5%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service 77% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure76
- Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators 75% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure68
- Postal Service Mail Carriers 75% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure57
- Office Clerks, General 67% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure53
- Postmasters and Mail Superintendents 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure61
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Postal Service Clerks and AI
Will AI replace Postal Service Clerks?
AI already handles 1 of the 19 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 33 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by -3.5% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Postal Service Clerks?
33 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 19 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 19 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Postal Service Clerks tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Sort incoming and outgoing mail, according to type and destination, by hand or by operating electronic mail-sorting and scanning devices. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 85% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Postal Service Clerks, and what do they earn?
73,720 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $62,130 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -3.5% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Postal Service Clerks. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/postal-service-clerks
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample. Send this role and up to nine others, with no employee data, and a founder sends a PDF in board-pack format within two business days.
A founder replies within one business day.