Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2006

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)
141,170 1.8 % $12.05 $25,060 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.69 $9.29 $11.45 $14.18 $17.35
Annual Wage (2) $16,000 $19,330 $23,810 $29,500 $36,100

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Advertising and Related Services 19,670 $11.18 $23,260
Business Support Services 16,120 $10.86 $22,590
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers 11,550 $12.89 $26,820
Employment Services 9,840 $10.99 $22,870
Insurance Carriers 8,490 $12.39 $25,770

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 90 $16.35 $34,010
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 260 $16.05 $33,380
Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing 30 $15.42 $32,080
Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers 200 $14.97 $31,150
Building Equipment Contractors (8) $14.59 $30,350

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

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 1,570 $15.91 $33,100 0.258%
Nebraska 1,580 $10.96 $22,790 0.175%
Pennsylvania 9,670 $11.66 $24,250 0.172%
Iowa 2,530 $11.21 $23,320 0.172%
Virginia 5,720 $12.87 $26,770 0.159%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
District of Columbia 1,570 $15.91 $33,100 0.258%
Washington 2,070 $14.05 $29,220 0.076%
New York 10,990 $13.84 $28,790 0.131%
Alaska 160 $13.83 $28,760 0.053%
Massachusetts 3,620 $13.61 $28,310 0.114%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

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

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Eau Claire, WI 310 $10.52 $21,870 0.402%
Lynchburg, VA 390 $9.80 $20,390 0.387%
Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 2,230 $12.56 $26,130 0.373%
Trenton-Ewing, NJ 730 $15.03 $31,250 0.320%
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 1,000 $12.21 $25,390 0.320%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 330 $16.37 $34,060 0.037%
Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, MA-NH NECTA Division 50 $15.59 $32,420 0.064%
Utica-Rome, NY 60 $15.27 $31,750 0.046%
Norwich-New London, CT-RI 50 $15.25 $31,720 0.037%
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 1,060 $15.06 $31,310 0.110%

About May 2006 National, State, Metropolitan, and nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan 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.

(8) Estimate not released.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2006 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2006 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2006 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2006 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2006 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: December 6, 2007