If you live in Berthoud, or view Berthoud-centric social media, odds are you are aware of the recent troubles of the Berthoud branch of the United States Post Office. The struggles – delayed or non-delivery of parcels, long wait lines at the branch office itself and trouble getting your daily mail – are all the result of a severe staffing shortage. The problems are not unique to Berthoud and are being experienced statewide.

The Berthoud branch is currently short three rural letter carriers, according to James Boxrud, who works in strategic communications for the United States Postal Service (USPS). According to Boxrud, having three fewer carriers needed to fill the routes has resulted in the office having to rotate positions amongst their available staff. Carriers assigned to other routes have been required to fill in and service the routes that do not have assigned full-time carriers.

This has resulted in carriers being unfamiliar with the routes on which they have to substitute and then, when having to substitute on a rural route, are unable to deliver mail on their assigned route. According to Boxrud, “due to continued staffing issues, there may be days when a customer does not receive mail, but we are rotating employees and assignments so they will get mail the following day. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes to area customers and are working to restore regular, consistent service. We are aggressively hiring rural carriers in Berthoud to stabilize our workforce in your area.”

As a result of the shortage, the USPS has recently embarked on an aggressive recruitment and hiring approach, getting out word of available job openings within the service through as many channels as possible.

The staffing shortage came about, as it has in many sectors of the economy, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent disruptions it caused to the economy as a whole and the labor market in particular. While the expansive unemployment benefits have expired in many locations, a lot of workers have not returned to the full-time workforce while others have opted to change occupations to other careers where remote work was possible.

“These challenges are not unique to Berthoud,” Boxrud explained. “The advent of the pandemic, the increase of consumer use of ordering necessities online and the national employment challenges have exacerbated this for many Front Range communities.”

The Berthoud branch of the USPS has openings for the three rural carrier positions as well as other job opportunities, as do many other branches in the Northern Colorado area. “We have numerous positions available in almost all of Colorado and we encourage all interested applicants to visit USPS.com/careers. These are great jobs that can quickly lead to career opportunities with full benefits, including paid annual and sick leave, holiday pay, health care, retirement, and other benefits,” Boxrud said.

Just a few of the full-time positions available in the area include City Carrier Assistant ($18.92 per hour), Rural Carrier Associate ($19.06 per hour), Postal Support Employee ($18.92 per hour) and part-time positions including Assistant Rural Carrier for Sundays and holidays.

People interested in positions with the USPS are encouraged to visit www.usps.com/careers.