The Postal Service is facing a potential “retirement wave,” its inspector general’s office warns, with nearly one in five of its employees now retirement-eligible, and more than half its workforce eligible to retire within a decade.
The USPS OIG, in its latest report, found USPS experienced no significant shortage of career employees last year, despite a tight labor market in the U.S. and record-low unemployment rates.
Between fiscal years 2019 and 2023, USPS grew its workforce by more than 8,000 employees — a more than 1% growth rate. The agency employs about 637,000 total workers.
The agency, however, may also need to prepare for a large contingent of its workforce getting ready to retire.
The USPS OIG found nearly 20% of all USPS frontline “craft” employees were eligible to retire, as of November 2023, and another 5% will reach retirement eligibility this year.
