Occupational Employment and Wages, May 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)
152,360 1.6 % $10.91 $22,700 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.23 $8.68 $10.47 $12.84 $15.52
Annual Wage (2) $15,040 $18,060 $21,790 $26,710 $32,290

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 17,260 $9.92 $20,630 1 111
Business support services 12,220 $9.57 $19,900 2 125
Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 10,900 $10.80 $22,470 3 86
Employment services 10,630 $9.44 $19,630 4 126
Insurance carriers 8,990 $11.00 $22,890 5 77

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Natural gas distribution (6) $19.57 $40,700 (6) 1
Automotive repair and maintenance 70 $15.66 $32,570 87 2
Power generation and supply 480 $15.64 $32,520 37 3
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing 120 $15.42 $32,080 70 4
Wireless telecommunications carriers 60 $14.06 $29,240 99 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 2,160 $12.30 $25,580 0.363% 377
Utah 2,370 $9.94 $20,670 0.227% 569
Maryland 5,170 $10.85 $22,580 0.212% 613
Delaware 810 $10.77 $22,390 0.201% 438
New York 15,550 $11.55 $24,030 0.188% 638

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Massachusetts 4,750 $12.77 $26,570 0.150% 576
District of Columbia 2,160 $12.30 $25,580 0.363% 377
Connecticut 2,250 $12.26 $25,490 0.137% 546
Alaska 200 $12.08 $25,120 0.068% 429
New Jersey 5,440 $11.92 $24,790 0.141% 599

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 450 $9.96 $20,710 0.401%
Lynchburg, VA MSA 340 $8.60 $17,900 0.367%
Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT MSA 2,090 $10.04 $20,880 0.301%
Jersey City, NJ PMSA 720 $11.47 $23,870 0.298%
Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH MSA 190 $11.96 $24,870 0.295%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Atlantic-Cape May, NJ PMSA (6) $15.69 $32,640 (6)
Rochester, MN MSA 110 $15.40 $32,030 0.113%
Bangor, ME MSA 60 $15.31 $31,850 0.106%
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 300 $14.15 $29,430 0.150%
San Francisco, CA PMSA 870 $13.69 $28,480 0.089%

About May 2003 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) 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.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Office and Administrative Support Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

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

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004