Postmasters and Mail Superintendents
Also called: Distribution Operation Supervisor (SDO), Distribution Operations Manager, Postmaster, Remote Encoding Center ManagerPlan, direct, or coordinate operational, administrative, management, and support services of a U.S. post office; or coordinate activities of workers engaged in postal and related work in assigned post office.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 8 of its 13 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 0.3% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.0 hires for every 10 job openings in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, which employs about 100% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.9.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $95,740 | $90,650 to $102,590 | 280 |
| Alaska | $59,340 | $55,790 to $80,230 | 170 |
| Arizona | $99,050 | $89,670 to $106,250 | 150 |
| Arkansas | $97,880 | $92,980 to $102,960 | 180 |
| California | $101,150 | $94,350 to $111,740 | 800 |
| Colorado | $93,000 | $85,990 to $99,530 | 200 |
| Connecticut | $97,880 | $92,480 to $103,580 | 160 |
| Delaware | $98,550 | $94,060 to $107,270 | 40 |
| Florida | $102,880 | $96,080 to $113,090 | 350 |
| Georgia | $97,050 | $92,620 to $102,960 | 340 |
| Hawaii | $99,070 | $90,130 to $107,740 | 60 |
| Idaho | $92,820 | $85,090 to $101,150 | 130 |
| Illinois | $94,970 | $89,770 to $102,250 | 510 |
| Indiana | $98,680 | $93,310 to $105,230 | 290 |
| Iowa | $93,160 | $89,770 to $98,970 | 260 |
| Kansas | $93,080 | $89,110 to $100,300 | 190 |
| Kentucky | $98,570 | $93,970 to $103,710 | 240 |
| Louisiana | $96,550 | $90,440 to $102,580 | 250 |
| Maine | $93,000 | $88,050 to $99,510 | 180 |
| Maryland | $94,890 | $90,650 to $101,090 | 230 |
| Massachusetts | $96,870 | $91,500 to $103,750 | 330 |
| Michigan | $97,790 | $93,290 to $104,230 | 450 |
| Minnesota | $92,410 | $88,250 to $98,580 | 320 |
| Mississippi | $95,270 | $90,040 to $101,440 | 190 |
| Missouri | $95,680 | $90,270 to $101,380 | 300 |
| Montana | $88,920 | $62,170 to $97,260 | 170 |
| Nebraska | $94,040 | $89,540 to $99,300 | 150 |
| Nevada | $89,770 | $51,900 to $101,150 | 70 |
| New Hampshire | $92,980 | $88,720 to $101,150 | 160 |
| New Jersey | $101,100 | $94,810 to $107,640 | 440 |
| New Mexico | $91,500 | $74,340 to $100,430 | 140 |
| New York | $97,640 | $92,390 to $102,960 | 830 |
| North Carolina | $96,410 | $91,500 to $102,610 | 480 |
| North Dakota | $91,040 | $85,090 to $101,150 | 90 |
| Ohio | $97,680 | $92,810 to $102,960 | 510 |
| Oklahoma | $96,080 | $91,790 to $101,440 | 240 |
| Oregon | $93,180 | $85,510 to $100,340 | 220 |
| Pennsylvania | $97,530 | $91,890 to $102,610 | 800 |
| Puerto Rico | $101,580 | $96,310 to $108,300 | 90 |
| Rhode Island | $99,900 | $94,640 to $103,580 | 40 |
| South Carolina | $98,940 | $93,060 to $105,600 | 210 |
| South Dakota | $91,540 | $85,090 to $101,150 | 100 |
| Tennessee | $99,170 | $93,640 to $104,540 | 260 |
| Texas | $97,550 | $91,460 to $103,520 | 820 |
| Utah | $98,570 | $89,940 to $104,040 | 110 |
| Vermont | $89,890 | $87,150 to $96,010 | 120 |
| Virginia | $94,790 | $89,770 to $101,310 | 370 |
| Washington | $95,430 | $88,900 to $102,710 | 280 |
| West Virginia | $96,260 | $90,650 to $102,920 | 180 |
| Wisconsin | $96,810 | $91,500 to $102,960 | 340 |
| Wyoming | $88,040 | $69,060 to $96,120 | 80 |
Nationally: $96,660. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 8 of its 13 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Monitor employees' work schedules and attendance for payroll purposes. | Not published |
| AI + software | Prepare employee work schedules. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Organize and supervise activities, such as the processing of incoming and outgoing mail. | Not published |
| AI alone | Resolve customer complaints. | 0.01% |
| Not much | Hire and train employees, and evaluate their performance. | Not published |
| AI alone | Direct and coordinate operational, management, and supportive services of one or a number of postal facilities. | Not published |
See all 13 tasks
| AI + software | Negotiate labor disputes. | Not published |
| AI + software | Prepare and submit detailed and summary reports of post office activities to designated supervisors. | Not published |
| AI alone | Inform the public of available services, and of postal laws and regulations. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Select and train postmasters and managers of associate postal units. | Not published |
| AI + software | Confer with suppliers to obtain bids for proposed purchases and to requisition supplies, disbursing funds according to federal regulations. | Not published |
| Not much | Collect rents for post office boxes. | Not published |
| Not much | Issue and cash money orders. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 3 of the 13 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 13 tasks fall under 11 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #3 Respond to customer problems or inquiries
- #11 Provide information to guests, clients, or customers
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Train others on operational or work procedures | |||
| Assign work to others | |||
| Perform recruiting or hiring activities | |||
| Collect fares or payments | |||
| Respond to customer problems or inquiries | |||
| Provide information to guests, clients, or customers | |||
| Prepare reports of operational or procedural activities |
Show all 11 activities
| Coordinate activities with clients, agencies, or organizations | |||
| Evaluate personnel capabilities or performance | |||
| Negotiate contracts or agreements |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An email or message38%
- An explanation or answer22%
- Advice or a recommendation20%
- A document or report4%
- A plan or strategy3%
How they worked with Claude
46% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for postmasters and mail superintendents specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 1,092 moves out
- 1 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 8%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
- 3 Construction Managers High +9.1% 7%
- 4 Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary High -0.3% 5%
- 5 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 5%
Where people moved in from
of 2,259 moves in
- 1 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 13%
- 2 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 8%
- 3 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 7%
- 4 Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks Very high -5.6% 5%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 62% high school
- 7% postsecondary certificate
- 11% some college
- 7% associate's
- 13% bachelor's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 29 people answered.
1 program: Public Administration.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/11-9131.00