# Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service

US SOC code 43-9051. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/43-9051

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **55,230** US mail clerks and mail machine operators (except postal service), with median pay of **$39,280** a year. The last full technology era for mail clerks and mail machine operators: Email + electronic document management, 1998 to 2015.

Figures: Official statistic.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 7.2% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-9051&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

### AI exposure studies

- **12.2%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv) (Official statistic)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35.

## Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1920
- Latest US employment: 55,230 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [2]
- Latest US median pay: $39,280 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Outlook: -7.2% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [13]

### All 24 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2000 | 182,460 | n/a | BLS OEWS 2000 [1] |
| 2003 | 152,360 | $21,790 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [2] |
| 2004 | 149,700 | $22,380 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [2] |
| 2005 | 148,330 | $22,870 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [2] |
| 2006 | 141,170 | $23,810 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [2] |
| 2007 | 138,990 | $24,410 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [2] |
| 2008 | 137,350 | $25,100 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [2] |
| 2009 | 131,750 | $25,700 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [2] |
| 2010 | 119,960 | $26,090 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [2] |
| 2011 | 115,010 | $26,610 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [2] |
| 2012 | 102,410 | $26,900 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [2] |
| 2013 | 99,140 | $27,450 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [2] |
| 2014 | 99,190 | $27,890 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [2] |
| 2015 | 95,640 | $28,570 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [2] |
| 2016 | 91,530 | $29,160 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [2] |
| 2017 | 85,800 | $29,620 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [2] |
| 2018 | 86,150 | $30,430 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [2] |
| 2019 | 83,580 | $30,960 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [2] |
| 2020 | 79,310 | $31,920 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [2] |
| 2021 | 69,400 | $32,550 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [2] |
| 2022 | 67,750 | $35,070 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [2] |
| 2023 | 66,600 | $36,880 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [2] |
| 2024 | 62,730 | $38,150 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [2] |
| 2025 | 55,230 | $39,280 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [2] |

## Sources (66)

### Employment series

1. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
2. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

4. [ASME Landmark — Pitney-Bowes Model M Postage Meter (first commercial postage meter, November 1920)](https://www.asme.org/about-asme/engineering-history/landmarks/114-pitney-bowes-model-m-postage-meter), American Society of Mechanical Engineers
5. [Washington Post (1996) — "Their Meter Is Running": Pitney Bowes owned 85% of nation's 1.5 million postage meters](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1996/08/11/their-meter-is-running/23bf8248-64b9-4a0b-9433-c5aca4573403/), Washington Post
6. [TIME — "The ZIP Code Turns 50" (July 1, 1963: US Post Office introduces the Zone Improvement Plan code)](https://nation.time.com/2013/07/01/the-zip-code-turns-50/), TIME
7. [Wikipedia — Pitney Bowes: company history (mail inserters introduced 1961, automatic mail sorters 1957, bar code equipment 1968)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitney_Bowes), Wikipedia / Pitney Bowes
8. [USPS / StudyLib — US Postal Automation History: Mechanization and Technology (OCR deployment 1965-1984, 252 OCRs in 118 centers)](https://studylib.net/doc/8528939/postal-mechanization---early-automation), US Postal Service historical documentation
9. [USPS — First-Class Mail Volume Since 1926 (peak at 103.5 billion pieces in 2000; 52.6 billion in 2020)](https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/first-class-mail-since-1926.htm), United States Postal Service
10. [USPS OIG — Analysis of Historical Mail Volume Trends (46% decline 2008-2023; electronic diversion as primary driver)](https://www.uspsoig.gov/reports/white-papers/analysis-historical-mail-volume-trends), USPS Office of Inspector General
11. [Ricoh — "The Technology Powering Digital Mailrooms" (AI-assisted OCR, scan-to-route workflows, 2020s)](https://www.pfu-us.ricoh.com/blog/digital-mailroom-automation), Ricoh / PFU
12. [Tritek — "The Changing Role of Corporate Mailrooms" (parcel growth, declining letter volume 154B to 129B pieces 2015-2021, outsourcing trend)](https://tritek.com/blog/the-changing-role-of-corporate-mailrooms/), Tritek Consulting

### Forecasts and exposure studies

13. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 43-9051 Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service (2025: 57.8 thousand; 2035: 53.6 thousand; -7.2%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-9051&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
14. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 43-9051.00, human-rated β 0.122)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

15. [ASME Landmark — Pitney-Bowes Model M Postage Meter (November 16, 1920)](https://www.asme.org/about-asme/engineering-history/landmarks/114-pitney-bowes-model-m-postage-meter), American Society of Mechanical Engineers
16. [TIME — "The ZIP Code Turns 50" (July 1, 1963)](https://nation.time.com/2013/07/01/the-zip-code-turns-50/), TIME
17. [StudyLib / USPS — US Postal Automation History: Mechanization and Technology (OCR Detroit 1965; 252 OCRs in 118 centers by 1984)](https://studylib.net/doc/8528939/postal-mechanization---early-automation), US Postal Service historical documentation
18. [USPS — First-Class Mail Volume Since 1926 (historical volume data, 103.5 billion pieces peak in 2000)](https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/first-class-mail-since-1926.htm), United States Postal Service
19. [Data USA — Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service (2014 employment: 92,215)](https://datausa.io/profile/soc/mail-clerks-mail-machine-operators-except-postal-service), Data USA / Deloitte / Datawheel
20. [Tritek — "The Changing Role of Corporate Mailrooms" (mail volume 154B to 129B pieces 2015-2021; digital and parcel shift)](https://tritek.com/blog/the-changing-role-of-corporate-mailrooms/), Tritek Consulting

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.