Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2003

43-9051 Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service

Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution. Use hand or mail handling machines to time stamp, open, read, sort, and route incoming mail; and address, seal, stamp, fold, stuff, and affix postage to outgoing mail or packages. Duties may also include keeping necessary records and completed forms.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
150,950 2.1 % $10.99 $22,860 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.22 $8.70 $10.54 $12.98 $15.74
Annual Wage (2) $15,030 $18,090 $21,920 $26,990 $32,730

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Advertising and related services 17,700 $9.88 $20,550
Business support services 14,770 $9.94 $20,670
Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 11,360 $10.76 $22,380
Employment services 10,930 $9.58 $19,920
Insurance carriers 9,140 $11.35 $23,600

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Natural gas distribution 110 $18.36 $38,190
Power generation and supply 400 $16.87 $35,080
Other general merchandise stores (7) $15.99 $33,270
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing 70 $15.07 $31,350
Activities related to real estate 270 $14.67 $30,510

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
District of Columbia 2,120 $13.45 $27,970 0.356%
Maryland 5,080 $10.56 $21,970 0.207%
Delaware 830 $10.80 $22,470 0.206%
Utah 1,970 $10.04 $20,880 0.189%
Nebraska 1,640 $10.40 $21,620 0.186%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
District of Columbia 2,120 $13.45 $27,970 0.356%
Connecticut 2,220 $12.44 $25,890 0.136%
Massachusetts 4,250 $12.42 $25,830 0.136%
Minnesota 3,410 $12.37 $25,740 0.132%
New Jersey 5,420 $11.99 $24,940 0.140%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Sioux Falls, SD MSA 400 $10.05 $20,900 0.345%
Columbus, GA-AL MSA 340 $9.11 $18,960 0.301%
Manchester, NH PMSA 320 $11.83 $24,610 0.299%
Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH MSA 190 $12.23 $25,450 0.292%
Trenton, NJ PMSA 630 $13.77 $28,630 0.291%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Duluth-Superior, MN-WI MSA (7) $16.16 $33,620 (7)
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 260 $16.03 $33,340 0.131%
Rochester, MN MSA 80 $15.89 $33,040 0.081%
San Francisco, CA PMSA 1,180 $13.82 $28,750 0.122%
Trenton, NJ PMSA 630 $13.77 $28,630 0.291%

About November 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) Estimates not released.

All Office and Administrative Support Occupations

November 2003 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download November 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 19, 2005