The staffing shortage at the Baker City post office that has delayed mail delivery should be improving, according to a Postal Service official.

A July 27 job fair in Baker City yielded 14 applicants who are in the hiring process, Kim Frum, a strategic communications specialist for the agency, wrote in an email to the Herald on Monday, Aug. 7.

Frum had previously said that the Postal Service would like to hire at least 10 new employees — mail carriers, mail handlers and clerks — at the Baker City post office.

Until the new employees start work, “borrowed” employees from other offices will work in Baker City when possible, Frum said.

The Baker City job fair was one of 37 that the Postal Service put on across Oregon on July 27 to try to alleviate the worker shortage that has affected cities in Oregon and in other states.