Mailmen typically work early in the morning.
Come rain or shine, mailmen ensure that people receive their postal communications. Mailmen begin by sorting post at a depot, organizing it logically for their route and transferring it into a bag or trolley. They then follow a route, delivering letters and parcels door to door. They also keep records of deliveries that require the recipient to sign for receipt.
Average Pay
As part of its May 2010 analysis of national employment trends, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics collated pay information from more than 300,000 individual postal service mail carriers. It concluded that the mean annual salary for the profession was $50,520, which equates to an hourly rate of $24.16. Those in the top 10 percent of earners received wages of over $55,790 per year while their colleagues in the bottom 10 percent earned less than $38,490.
Pay by Industry
Location plays a small part in determining a mailman's pay. The bureau lists the District of Columbia as the best location for a practitioner to work in, with an annual mean of $52,720. Alaska and Hawaii were also given as comparatively lucrative areas, with respective means of $52,620 and $52,510. Florida and Texas were listed with almost identical wage levels -- $50,520 and $50,510, respectively -- while Missouri had the lowest annual mean, $48,930.
Benefits
Besides their basic pay, mailmen are also entitled to a comprehensive package of auxiliary benefits. The Postal Employee Network reports that postal service workers receive health insurance as part of the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, a pension as part of the federal retirement program -- as well as the opportunity to contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan to augment their pension. Mailmen are also given life insurance coverage and annual leave of 13 days for each of the first three years of service, 20 days after three years, and 26 days after 15 years of service.
Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects there to be a decline of around 1 percent in employment opportunities for mailmen over the decade from 2008 to 2018. This compares with growth of between 7 and 13 percent for the country as a whole across all occupations. Increased automation of the sorting process, as well as shifts to more centralized mail services, requiring less door-to-door delivery will be the major causes of this stagnation. Combined with keen competition for vacancies, wages may not rise significantly in the immediate future.
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