Materials Handler

What the Numbers Say About Materials Handler

Federal agencies employ 6,277 people in the Materials Handler occupation (OPM code 6907), accounting for 0.3% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -0.0% versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.

The average salary for Materials Handler is $116,753 per year, placing it 6.3% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 88.0% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce. Average length of service in this role is 9.7 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Materials Handler sits inside the Warehousing and Stock Handling Family family (code 69), which contains 9 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Materials Handler postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Within the Warehousing and Stock Handling Family family, Materials Handler is the single largest occupation by headcount, accounting for 42.6% of the family's combined 14,742 employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (89th percentile) of pay among Warehousing and Stock Handling Family occupations.