U.S. Postal Service Honolulu human resources staffer Chris Hirata talks with Hannah Williams while manning a recruitment table in front of Kihei Post Office on June 15. Williams said she was interested in following in her father’s footsteps. Former postmaster dad, Rob Williams of Kihei, spent 33 years working for the USPS in California. Hirata said Maui has replaced Hawaii island as the island with the state’s most pressing staffing concerns. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
U.S. Postal Service offices on Maui continue to struggle with the most worker vacancies in the state as unemployment rates remain low on island and average wages high, making for a “tight hiring market,” officials said.
Currently, the Maui postal facilities with the most vacancies are Lahaina, which has 10 openings, Wailuku with nine and Kahului with seven.
“We’re facing the same hiring challenges as every other employer, compounded by the continuing growth of communities on the Valley Isle,” USPS Workforce Planning Specialist Naupaka Hanchett said last week. “That growth results in additional delivery points and workload. Maui has relatively low unemployment and relatively high wages. That makes for a tight hiring market.”
Despite the shortages, the U.S. Postal Service workers have been able to minimize the impacts to ensure that services continue in areas across the Valley Isle, officials said. Duke Gonzales, strategic communications specialist for USPS Hawaii & San Diego Regions, said that employees have made adjustments when needed and responded to the staffing issues “by stepping up and teaming up to ensure that every customer receives the mail delivery that they deserve.”
According to the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, the state unemployment rate in May dropped to 3.1 percent — its lowest level in over two years since the pandemic. On Maui in May, the rate was 2.5 percent.
The minimum wage in Hawaii is currently $12 an hour, but this will increase to $14 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2024, according to the state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations.
The union positions with the postal service have a starting pay from $24.92 to $25.06 per hour, including a cost-of-living adjustment, Hanchett said. There are also regular pay increases and many benefits, including paid vacation and sick leave, health, dental and vision coverage, life insurance and pension.
USPS officials did not directly respond to a question of whether the COVID-19 pandemic — which caused workers in some industries to lose their jobs or opt for career changes — contributed to high vacancies on Maui. However, they said the pandemic highlighted the essential role that postal employees play in their communities.
“When people were confined to their homes, when stores and supermarkets experienced shortages or were shut down, we delivered medicines to house-bound seniors, household supplies to those unable to shop at stores, and COVID tests to anyone who needed them,” Gonzales said. “We were and continue to be a vital lifeline between local communities such as those on Maui and the rest of the world.”
In hopes of filling vacancies, the U.S. Postal Service held job fairs at the Kahului, Kihei, Lahaina and Wailuku post offices earlier this month. USPS needs about 47 new employees to fill positions as clerks and carriers at various Maui postal facilities, but the job fairs generated about 18 applicants.
“That was a decent result, but it didn’t completely fulfill our needs,” Hanchett said. “Maui is currently the most challenging area in the state for us to hire new employees. The simple hiring tactics we relied on in the past — putting up banners outside post offices and the coconut wireless — no longer work. That’s why last week we coordinated a one-day, multi-site job fair blitz on the island.”
In addition to local job fairs, Hanchett said that the USPS human resources team is posting positions on third-party job listing websites, conducting virtual job fairs through Eventbrite and working with local unemployment, veterans and community college offices to get the word out.
“The bottom line is that our current vacancies are great opportunities for anyone seeking fast-paced, rewarding work environments with good pay, and are a first step that could lead to long-term careers for the U.S. Postal Service,” Hanchett said.
Interested folks can apply online at
* Staff Writer Dakota Grossman can be reached at .
- U.S. Postal Service Honolulu human resources staffer Chris Hirata talks with Hannah Williams while manning a recruitment table in front of Kihei Post Office on June 15. Williams said she was interested in following in her father’s footsteps. Former postmaster dad, Rob Williams of Kihei, spent 33 years working for the USPS in California. Hirata said Maui has replaced Hawaii island as the island with the state’s most pressing staffing concerns. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
The Maui News Maui County Department of Finance Director Scott Teruya was placed on administrative leave on last ...
Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, formerly on Front Street in Lahaina Town and destroyed by the fire, announced the ...
