U.S. Postal Service Workforce Size and Employment Categories, 1987-2007
U.S. Postal Service Workforce Size and
Employment Categories, 1987-2007
Wendy Ginsberg
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
This report provides data from the past two decades on the size of the U.S. Postal
Service’s (USPS’s) workforce, the number of persons employed by USPS by
employment categories, and the number of persons employed by USPS under time-
limited contracts. It also analyzes the most salient aspects of these employment data.
USPS employs nearly 786,000 persons. Although USPS’s workforce size has changed
relatively little from 20 years ago, it has dropped 12% in the past decade. The number
of career employees declined 8.8% since 1987; however, the number of non-career
employees increased 106.5%. Clerks, who staff retail counters at post offices and
manually sort mail, dropped more than 31% since 1987. Rural mail delivery carriers,
in contrast, grew 84.9%; and building and equipment maintenance personnel and vehicle
maintenance personnel grew 28.7% and 14.9%, respectively. This report will be
updated at the beginning of each new Congress.
Data Source
Each year, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) issues an Annual Report (herein, the
Report) that includes data on its workforce.1 The Report categorizes employees as either
“career employees” or “non-career employees.” According to USPS, the career
employees category includes persons with permanent positions at USPS, part- and full-
time. The non-career employees category includes all persons hired under time-limited
contracts.2 The Report also provides breakdowns of the number of workers by
employment categories (e.g., regional offices personnel, clerks, and nurses). The
1 This report originally was written by Kevin R. Kosar. Readers may contact Wendy Ginsberg
with questions about postal employment issues.
2 The data on non-career employment do not include persons carrying out postal functions
outsourced to private firms. For example, USPS no longer has a fleet of cargo aircraft. Today,
the Postal Service contracts with United Parcel Service and other private firms for the
transportation of mail by air. The persons who fly and maintain these planes are excluded from
the data on non-career employees.
Appendix of this report presents brief descriptions of these employment categories. This
report provides workforce data drawn from the Reports covering 1987 through 2007.3
Data Analysis
Workforce Size. The size of USPS’s workforce changed relatively little during
the past two decades, decreasing from 799,800 employees in 1987 to 785,929 employees
in 2007 (Table 1, Figure 1). Figures from just the beginning and ending dates, however,
mask a rise in career employees in the first decade and a decline in career employees in
the second decade. Since 1997, the total workforce has decreased by 12%. Clerks, for
example, fell from 280,818 in 1997 to 204,145 (27.3%) in 2007.
Career Employees vs. Non-career Employees. The number of career
employees decreased by 8.8% between 1987 and 2007, from 750,808 to 684,762, while
non-career USPS employees increased by 106.5%, from 48,992 to 101,167 (Table 1).
Although 10 of the 18 career employee categories had fewer employees in 2007 than in
1987 (e.g., the number of postmasters/installation heads declined by 8.8%),4 all five of the
non-career employment categories had more employees than in 1987. Despite the decline
in career employees, they constituted the vast majority of USPS’s workforce during the
past two decades (Figure 1, Table 2). The percentage of USPS’s workforce consisting
of career employees declined from 93.9% to 85.7% between 1987 and 1997, but increased
to 88.1% in 2002. The percentage declined again in 2007 to 87.1%.
Employment Categories. While the size of each employment category shifted
over the past 20 years, three trends are marked. First, “rural” employment categories grew
significantly. Full-time rural delivery carriers rose from 36,551 to 67,584 (84.9%), and
rural substitute carriers/rural carrier associates/rural carrier relief carriers/auxiliary carriers
(rural subs/RCA/RCR/AUX) increased from 29,831 to 60,444 (102.6%). In contrast, the
number of city delivery carriers rose 1.7% between 1987 and 2002 (229,706 and 233,639
respectively), but it has dropped 4.9% since 2002 to 222,132.
Second, three categories of USPS employees involved in the transportation of mail
prior to its delivery have grown between 14.9% and 24.1% since 1987. Mail handlers
rose 18.4%, from 48,879 to 57,882; and motor vehicle operators increased 24.1%, from
7,031 to 8,726. Vehicle maintenance personnel, who play a supporting role in mail
transportation, increased 14.9%, from 4,705 to 5,405.
Third, clerks, who staff the retail counters at post offices and manually sort mail,
decreased 31.1% in the past two decades, from 296,360 to 204,145.5
3 U.S. Postal Service, Annual Report of the Postmaster General (Washington: USPS, 1985-1995);
and U.S. Postal Service, Annual Report of the U.S. Postal Service (Washington: USPS, 1996-
4 Two career employment positions, regional office employees and special delivery messengers,
were eliminated.
5 Postmasters and postmaster replacements also perform retail activities in some instances.
Table 1. Number of USPS Employees by Employment Category,
1987-2007
(five-year intervals)
Employment19871992199720022007Change Change (%)
Category 1987-2007 1987-2007
Career Employees
Headquarters 2,1012,4341,9491,7122,85675535.9%
Headquarters — 5,7925,6634,3193,8484,527-1,265-21.8%
Related Field Units
Inspection Service — 4,2784,3244,3473,8752,991-1,287-30.1%
Field
Inspector General001017221,1471,147 —
Area Offices001,5662,1071,2811,281 —
Personnel
Regional Ofices431586000-431-100.0%
Postmasters/ 27,735 26,496 26,256 25,771 25,285 -2,450 -8.8%
Installation Heads
Supervisors/ 43,076 43,185 35,708 37,829 32,635 -10,441 -24.2%
Managers
Prof. Admin. and10,58210,44011,3699,6618,058-2524-23.9%
Tech. Personnel
Clerks 296,360 268,049 280,818 256,656 204,145 -92,215 -31.1%
Nurses 325 286 193 173 160 -165 -50.8%
Mail Handlers48,87949,52059,14759,25957,8829,00318.4%
City Delivery229,706223,088234,033233,639222,132-7,574-3.3%
Carriers
Motor Vehicle7,0317,0868,6259,0928,7261,69524.1%
Operators
Rural Delivery36,55143,28349,95760,81767,58431,03384.9%
Carriers — Full-time
Special Delivery2,2091,7421,33100-2,209-100.0%
Messengers
Bldg. and Equip.31,04734,36739,95442,27539,9488,90128.7%
Maint. Personnel
Vehicle Maintenance4,7054,7415,5015,5135,40570014.9%
Personnel
Subtotal 750,808 725,290 765,174 752,949 684,762 -66,046 -8.8%
Employment19871992199720022007Change Change (%)
Category 1987-2007 1987-2007
Non-career Employees
Casuals 9,621 27,204 32,615 19,065 22,078 12,457 129.5%
Non-bargaining 297 603 774 807 1,244 947 318.9%
Temporary
Rural Subs/RCA/RCR/29,83143,83054,83456,47460,44430,613102.6%
AUX
Postmaster
Relief/Leave 9,243 12,415 12,687 12,234 12,169 2,926 31.7%
Replacements
Transitional09,73226,78912,8475,2325,232 —
Employees
Subtotal 48,992 93,784 127,699 101,427 101,167 52,175 106.5%
Total Employees799,800819,074892,873854,376785,929-13,871-1.7%
Source: CRS analysis of data provided by USPS.
Figure 1. Total, Career, and Non-career Employees
1,000,000Total Employees
ee
oyCareer
600,000mpl
E
400,000er ofCareer
b
m
200,000Nu
0
1 98 7 1 99 2 19 97 20 02 200 7
Source: CRS analysis of data provided by USPS.
Table 2. Career and Non-career Employees as Percentage of USPS
Workforce
(five-year intervals)
Employees 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007
Career Employees93.9%88.5%85.7%88.1%87.1%
Non-career Employees6.1%11.5%14.3%11.9%12.9%
Total: 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Source: CRS analysis of data provided by USPS.
Appendix. Brief Descriptions of
USPS Employment Categories6
Career Employees
Headquarters: Includes persons who work in a variety of capacities at the two central
offices of the U.S. Postal Service, which are located in Washington, DC, and Rosslyn,
Virginia.
Headquarters — Related Field Units: Includes persons in offices administered from
USPS’s headquarters, but who are located elsewhere.
Inspection Service — Field: Includes persons who work for the Postal Inspection
Service, which protects USPS property and employees and investigates alleged misuse
of the mails for criminal purposes.
Inspector General: Includes persons who work for the USPS Office of Inspector
General, which audits and investigates USPS activities.
Area Offices Personnel: Includes persons who work in the USPS administrative units
that oversee postal operations in USPS’s nine geographic areas throughout the United
States.
Regional Offices: Included persons in the administrative unit that oversaw USPS
operations within geographic regions. Regional offices were replaced with area offices.
Postmasters/Installation Heads: Includes persons who serve as managers of retail postal
facilities.
Supervisors/Managers: Includes persons who supervise other persons or who manage
programs or processes.
Professional Administrative and Technical Personnel: Includes persons performing
administrative assistance and technical support duties.
6 These employment categories are those used by USPS in its Annual Report. The definitions
were composed by the author of this report in consultation with USPS.
Clerks: Includes persons who work directly with the public in USPS retail facilities and
who manually sort mail.
Nurses: Includes persons who work in USPS medical units and attend to injured
employees.
Mail Handlers: Includes persons who move mail containers in mail processing centers.
City Delivery Carriers: Includes persons who deliver mail in urban and non-rural areas.
Motor Vehicle Operators: Includes persons who drive mail trucks.
Rural Delivery Carriers - Full-time: Includes persons who deliver mail in non-urban
areas.
Special Delivery Messengers: Discontinued position that employed persons to make
deliveries that required expedited delivery.
Building and Equipment Maintenance Personnel: Includes persons who maintain and
repair USPS facilities.
Vehicle Maintenance Personnel: Includes persons who perform preventive maintenance
and repair of USPS vehicles.
Non-career Employees
Casuals: Includes persons hired temporarily to assist USPS career employees in mail
processing facilities.
Non-bargaining Temporary: Includes persons hired temporarily to perform
administrative duties in USPS offices.
Rural Subs/RCA/RCR/AUX: Includes rural substitute carriers, rural carrier associates,
rural carrier relief carriers, and auxiliary carriers, all of whom provide temporary
assistance to USPS in the delivery of mail in non-urban areas.
Postmaster Relief/Leave Replacements: Includes persons who serve temporarily as
managers of retail postal facilities.
Transitional Employees: Includes persons who staff USPS’s Remote Encoding Centers
(RECs), which provide assistance to mail processing machines.7
7 If a mail processing machine cannot read an address, it makes an electronic image of the mail
piece and transmits the image to a computer at an REC. There an employee attempts to determine
the correct address for the mail piece so that it may be reentered into the mail processing stream.