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Postal Service Mail Carriers

Office and Administrative Support · SOC 43-5052

0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$60,550
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
15,500
Proj. Annual Openings
328,820
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-0.5%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 43-5052 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
0.0%
Low · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
34/100
Low friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$60,550
No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
Projected openings
15,500
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -3.5%.
Observed/proxy demand
FY— certified LCAs; 22,635 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

Active ListeningSpeakingCritical ThinkingSocial PerceptivenessTime Management

Transition context

  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure33.9%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

20.4%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI23.1%
AI ability · AIOE38.2%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne68%

AI could do ~23.1% of this role but only ~0% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.

Top Skills

1.Active Listening
2.Speaking
3.Critical Thinking
4.Social Perceptiveness
5.Time Management

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

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.

Common titles: City Carrier, City Carrier Assistant (CCA), City Letter Carrier, City Mail Carrier, Letter Carrier, Mail Carrier

Representative Tasks

  • 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.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Enter information into databases or software programs.
  • Collect deposits, payments or fees.
  • Obtain written authorization to perform activities.
  • Route mail to correct destinations.
  • Sort mail.

Tools & Technologies

Microsoft Office software · hotMicrosoft Windows · hotMicrosoft Word · hotAddress Management System AMSAutomated Data Collection System ADCSDelivery operations information system DOISEnd of Run Report EOR

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

15
Occupations Shown
27.0%
Avg AI Exposure
8
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 43-5052: 2019 — employment: 339,650, median wage: $51,310; 2020 — employment: 333,570, median wage: $51,080; 2021 — employment: 335,540, median wage: $52,440; 2022 — employment: 326,760, median wage: $54,250; 2023 — employment: 331,600, median wage: $56,330; 2025 — employment: 328,820, median wage: $60,550.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure0.0%33.9%
OutlookAverage22% Bright
Median Salary$60,550N/A
AI Resiliency100/100N/A