Since the post office was privatised, and subsequently lost the monopoly on parcel delivery, they no longer recruit on the scale they once did. Competition, and the need to turn a profit, has forced the PO to become leaner and more productive. This ultimately means that there are now fewer postal workers doing the same work. Many labour intensive activities have now either been trimmed to the bone in terms of staff numbers or put out to private contract. Time was when you could just write to the PO and get an interview. These days xmas is the only time they recriut significant numbers of extra staff, and these are only on short term contracts.