Postal Service: NAICS 491
About the Postal Service subsector
The postal service subsector is part of the transportation and warehousing sector.
The Postal Service subsector includes the activities of the National Post Office and its subcontractors operating under a universal service obligation to provide mail services, and using the infrastructure required to fulfill that obligation. These services include delivering letters and small parcels. These articles can be described as those that can be handled by one person without using special equipment. This allows the collection, pick-up, and delivery operations to be done with limited labor costs and minimal equipment. Sorting and transportation activities, where necessary, are generally mechanized. The restriction to small parcels distinguishes these establishments from those in the transportation industries. These establishments may also provide express delivery services using the infrastructure established for provision of basic mail services.
North American Industry Classification System
The postal service subsector consists of a single industry group,
Postal Service: NAICS 4911.
Workforce Statistics
This section provides information relating to employment in postal service.
These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys.
The following tables present an overview of the industry including
mass layoffs,
data for occupations common to the industry,
and projections of occupational employment change.
Layoffs
(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)
Extended Mass Layoffs
(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)
Employment by Occupation
(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)
Earnings
Recent hourly and annual earnings for occupations commonly found in postal service.
Earnings by Occupation
| Data series |
Wages, 2011 |
| Hourly |
Annual |
| Median |
Mean |
Median |
Mean |
First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators |
$34.79 |
$33.95 |
$72,360 |
$70,610 |
Postal service clerks |
$25.53 |
$25.48 |
$53,100 |
$53,000 |
Postal service mail carriers |
$26.52 |
$24.71 |
$55,160 |
$51,390 |
Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators |
$25.52 |
$23.26 |
$53,080 |
$48,380 |
Postmasters and mail superintendents |
$30.25 |
$29.85 |
$62,920 |
$62,080 |
(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)
Work-related Fatalities
This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities in postal service.
| Data series |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
Fatalities |
|
Number of fatalities |
20 |
14 |
17 |
18 |
|
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.
|
(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)
Prices
This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction.
| Data series |
Back
data |
May
2012 |
Jun.
2012 |
Jul.
2012 |
Aug.
2012 |
Producer price index |
|
196.0 |
196.0 |
196.0 |
196.0 |
Percent change from previous month |
|
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
(Source: Producer Price Indexes)
Workplace Trends
This section presents data on the number of establishments in postal service. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.
Establishments
| Data series |
Back
data |
2nd quarter
2011 |
3rd quarter
2011 |
4th quarter
2011 |
1st quarter
2012 |
Number of establishments |
|
Federal government |
|
30,048 |
29,954 |
29,960 |
29,914 |
(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
Productivity
(Source: Productivity and Costs)
Other BLS Resources
Career Guide to Industries
To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.
Data extracted on:
September 27, 2012
