← All 785 jobsFile 43-9051
Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 7.2% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- Joint #527 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -7.2% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $39,280 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 57,800 in the US, with about 4,700 openings a year
The work, 19 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Process shipments or mail22%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Sort materials or products11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Package objects8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Examine materials or documentation for accuracy or compliance6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 454 conversations, and it got them there 88% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
Still yours: Analyze data to improve operations4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Explain regulations, policies, or procedures4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 84 Copilot conversations and completed it 93% of the time.
AI helps with this: Obtain formal documentation or authorization4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 585 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time.
Still yours: Mark materials or objects for identification4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Operate computer systems or computerized equipment3%
AI performed this in about 1 in 92 Copilot conversations and completed it 71% of the time.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Sell products or services3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Collect fares or payments3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes2%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance1%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 93 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 4,700 openings a year as people retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 37% of the workPackaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders0% AI does, against 9% here+4.1% by 2035 · $43,220 · High school diploma
- Shares 24% of the workExtruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders4% AI does, against 9% here+1.5% by 2035 · $45,760 · High school diploma
- Shares 23% of the workLaundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers2% AI does, against 9% here+4.3% by 2035 · $34,890 · No formal credential
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.08, higher than 26% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 43-9051 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Check another job.
Know someone in this job? Send them the file.