The U.S. Postal Service said Wednesday it plans to hire 200 city carrier assistants along the Front Range in coming weeks.

The new hires are expected to be in place in time for the holiday mailing rush. All the jobs are one-year assignments that could transition into permanent or “career” positions.

“The possibility of future employment exists,” said Postal Service spokesman David Rupert. “It depends on what kind of positions that open up with senior employees. It is a gateway.”

The temporary positions pay $15 an hour and come with benefits that are more limited than those offered by career carrier positions. Career carriers start at about $22 an hour and have access to a retirement plan.

Although the volume of mailed letters has steadily declined for years, package deliveries are growing with the surge in online retailing.

The Postal Service earlier this month announced lower rates for bulk commercial mail and for the largest online retailers in an effort to win more of that business.

“We have been hiring at an accelerated pace for most of this year,” Rupert said.

Although jobs are shrinking in some areas, like mail processing, there is still a need for feet on the ground. The average age of postal workers nationally is in the late 40s and larger numbers of them are retiring.
The openings, in Front Range cities from Fort Collins to Pueblo, represent about 8 percent of the letter carrier workforce of 2,500 in the area, Rupert said.

Those interested in applying should do so online. They should not go to the local post offices, call or respond to services that charge for finding jobs.

Positions will be added on a rolling basis and applicants who don’t see any opening in their area should continue to check back over the next several weeks, Rupert advised.

The United Parcel Service said Tuesday that it was hiring 95,000 seasonal workers.  The Atlanta company got caught short-handed last year when it hired only 55,000 initially, contributing to delivery delays during the holidays and forcing it to add another 30,000 hires.

via U.S. Post Office hiring 200 carriers in Colorado Front Range cities – The Denver Post.