Jobs / Office and administrative support / 43-5053.00
Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators
Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Examine, sort, and route mail. Load, operate, and occasionally adjust and repair mail processing, sorting, and canceling machinery. Keep records of shipments, pouches, and sacks, and perform other duties related to mail handling within the postal service. Includes postal service mail sorters and processors employed by USPS contractors.
- US jobs
- 105,200
- Median wage
- $58,470 a year
- Job family
- Office and administrative support
Can agents do the work of postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators?
We read the evidence for the whole job family, Office and administrative support: Most tasks (no change in 12 months)
Agents complete 60% or more of the tasks (or projects) on two direct benchmarks from independent institutions.
Evidence: OSWorld-Verified, 90.2% of tasks completed; SpreadsheetBench, 83.1% of tasks completed.
11% of this occupation's work, by O*NET work activities, is measured by a direct benchmark.
- 15%Process shipments or mailNot measured
- 11%Operate computer systems or computerized equipmentMeasured
- 10%Maintain tools or equipmentNot measured
- 10%Examine materials or documentation for accuracy or complianceNot measured
- 10%Package objectsNot measured
- 10%Sort materials or productsNot measured
- 8%Train others on operational or work proceduresNot measured
- 8%Mark materials or objects for identificationNot measured
Benchmarks for the job family
These cover work in office and administrative support, not always this occupation's tasks.
Direct evidence
Work benchmarks mapped primary to this family. They set the step when they report how many tasks agents complete.
- 45.9%Claude Opus 4.6 · 16 Mar 2026Emerging
- OSWorld-Verifiedby HKU, Salesforce AI Research, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Waterloo90.2%Intelligence-Indeed Agent · 25 Jul 2026Saturated
Also relevant
These benchmarks cover part of this family's work, or have no result yet. They do not set its step.
- 54.5%arito · 13 Sep 2026Emerging
Context only
These benchmarks span many occupations, or they test how agents behave. They give context but do not set the step.
- 42.9%TTE-MatrixAgent + DeepSeek-V3.2 · 10 Nov 2025Emerging
Typical tasks
From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.
- Clear jams in sorting equipment.
- Operate various types of equipment, such as computer scanning equipment, addressographs, mimeographs, optical character readers, and bar-code sorters.
- Sort odd-sized mail by hand, sort mail that other workers have been unable to sort, and segregate items requiring special handling.
- Direct items according to established routing schemes, using computer-controlled keyboards or voice-recognition equipment.
- Check items to ensure that addresses are legible and correct, that sufficient postage has been paid or the appropriate documentation is attached, and that items are in a suitable condition for processing.
- Bundle, label, and route sorted mail to designated areas, depending on destinations and according to established procedures and deadlines.
- Move containers of mail, using equipment, such as forklifts and automated "trains".
- Open and label mail containers.
- Load and unload mail trucks, sometimes lifting containers of mail onto equipment that transports items to sorting stations.
- Distribute incoming mail into the correct boxes or pigeonholes.
- Rewrap soiled or broken parcels.
- Train new workers.
Other job titles for this occupation (43)
Automation Clerk · Computer Forwarding System Markup Clerk (CFS Markup Clerk) · Distribution Clerk · Flat Sorting Machine Clerk (FSM Clerk) · Mail Handler · Mail Handler Equipment Operator · Mail Processing Clerk · Mail Processor · Parcel Post Distribution Machine Operator (PDPMO) · Small Package and Bundle Sorter Clerk (SPBS Clerk) · Assorter · Dead Mail Checker · Distribution Handler · Distributor · Equipment Operator · File Conversion Operator · Flat Sorter Operator · Flat Sorter Processor · General Expeditor · Letter Sorting Machine Operator (LSM Operator) · Mail Distribution Clerk · Mail Distribution Scheme Examiner · Mail Distributor · Mail Examiner · Mail Forwarding System Markup Clerk · Mail Handler Assistant · Mail Handler Sorter · Mail Opener · Mail Processing Agent · Mail Sorter · Mail Weigher · Mailing Section Clerk · Operations Label Clerk · Package Sorter · Post Office Markup Clerk · Postal Service Mail Processor · Postal Transportation Clerk · Presort Letter Operator · Processor · Sorter · Sorting Machine Operator · Zip Sorter · ZMT Operator (Zip Mail Translator Operator)