Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

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)
161,850 1.5 % $10.64 $22,130 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.13 $8.43 $10.19 $12.44 $14.94
Annual Wage (2) $14,820 $17,540 $21,190 $25,870 $31,080

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Advertising and related services 20,330 $9.53 $19,820 1 124
Employment services 14,410 $9.15 $19,020 2 132
Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 10,890 $10.93 $22,730 3 69
Business support services 10,250 $9.51 $19,780 4 128
Insurance carriers 9,030 $10.79 $22,450 5 79

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Natural gas distribution 140 $17.70 $36,810 75 1
Automotive repair and maintenance 70 $15.40 $32,030 95 2
Power generation and supply 410 $15.29 $31,790 41 3
Rail transportation 50 $14.32 $29,780 115 4
Wireless telecommunications carriers 60 $14.22 $29,570 103 5

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 Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 2,130 $12.04 $25,050 0.358% 355
Utah 2,410 $9.78 $20,350 0.231% 522
Delaware 910 $10.31 $21,440 0.227% 432
Nebraska 1,750 $10.13 $21,060 0.200% 471
Maryland 4,830 $10.79 $22,440 0.199% 555

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Massachusetts 4,850 $12.43 $25,850 0.152% 540
District of Columbia 2,130 $12.04 $25,050 0.358% 355
Alaska 200 $11.98 $24,910 0.070% 383
Washington 2,910 $11.59 $24,100 0.113% 563
New Jersey 6,720 $11.56 $24,040 0.174% 572

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 440 $10.05 $20,900 0.387%
Lynchburg, VA MSA 360 $8.46 $17,610 0.387%
Jersey City, NJ PMSA 830 $11.29 $23,480 0.340%
Omaha, NE-IA MSA 1,260 $10.56 $21,970 0.313%
Portland, ME MSA 480 $10.39 $21,600 0.312%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Bangor, ME MSA 60 $15.23 $31,680 0.106%
Rochester, MN MSA 80 $13.29 $27,640 0.084%
Atlantic-Cape May, NJ PMSA 100 $13.18 $27,410 0.054%
Springfield, MA MSA 590 $12.95 $26,930 0.235%
New London-Norwich, CT-RI MSA 90 $12.77 $26,560 0.063%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

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) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for 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.

All Office and Administrative Support Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003