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.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Service Orientation
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Time Management
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Sales and Marketing
- Administrative
- Transportation
- Computers and Electronics
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Weigh letters and parcels, compute mailing costs based on type, weight, and destination, and affix correct postage.
- Obtain signatures from recipients of registered or special delivery mail.
- Check mail to ensure correct postage and that packages and letters are in proper condition for mailing.
- Answer questions regarding mail regulations and procedures, postage rates, and post office boxes.
- Sort incoming and outgoing mail, according to type and destination, by hand or by operating electronic mail-sorting and scanning devices.
- Transport mail from one work station to another.
- Keep money drawers in order, and record and balance daily transactions.
- Register, certify, and insure letters and parcels.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Realistic, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (67.6% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (27.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (32.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Postal Service Clerks is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 70% of occupations compared | 90% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 88% of occupations compared | 78% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 66% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 96% of occupations compared | 24% of surveyed respondents chose “No freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 65% of occupations compared | 62% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 84% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 93% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 82% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 8%
- Occasional contact with others: 2.17%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 0%
- Constant contact with others: 89.83%
n = 36, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 9.13%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 8%
- Very important: 4.56%
- Extremely important: 78.31%
n = 36, Incumbent 07/2016
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 4.74%
- Fairly important: 12.7%
- Important: 10.26%
- Very important: 16.56%
- Extremely important: 55.74%
n = 36, Incumbent 07/2016
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 23.56%
- Very little freedom: 9.44%
- Limited freedom: 20.57%
- Some freedom: 22.96%
- A lot of freedom: 23.47%
n = 34, Incumbent 07/2016
Time pressure
- Never: 25.84%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 8%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.58%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 2.71%
- Every day: 61.86%
n = 36, Incumbent 07/2016
Conflict situations
- Never: 14.54%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 10.51%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.67%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.44%
- Every day: 31.84%
n = 34, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 9.33%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.82%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.34%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 46.91%
- Every day: 36.6%
n = 35, Incumbent 07/2016
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 37.93%
- Fairly serious: 23.6%
- Serious: 22.89%
- Very serious: 3.37%
- Extremely serious: 12.22%
n = 34, Incumbent 07/2016
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O*NET-SOC 43-5051.00 · SOC 43-5051 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8