If you use a catalog or directory type mailmerge to get the data into the
form of word table to which you add a row at the top into which you insert
the names of the mergefields and then run this macro with that document
open, it will sort the table so that if you then save it and use it as the
data source for your label mailmerge, the labels will be in the order that
you want:

' Macro to assign numbers to data source so that it can be sorted to cause
labels to print down columns
Dim Message, Title, Default, labelrows, labelcolumns, i As Integer, j As
Integer, k As Integer
Message = "Enter the number of labels in a row"    ' Set prompt.
Title = "Labels per Row"    ' Set title.
Default = "3"    ' Set default.
' Display message, title, and default value.
labelcolumns = InputBox(Message, Title, Default)
Message = "Enter the number of labels in a column"    ' Set prompt.
Title = "Labels per column"    ' Set title.
Default = "5"    ' Set default.
labelrows = InputBox(Message, Title, Default)
ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Columns.Add
BeforeColumn:=ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Columns(1)
ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Rows(1).Range.Cut
k = 1
For i = 1 To ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Rows.Count - labelcolumns
   For j = 1 To labelrows
       ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Cell(i, 1).Range.InsertBefore k + (j - 1) *
labelcolumns
       i = i + 1
   Next j
   k = k + 1
   i = i - 1
   If k Mod labelcolumns = 1 Then k = k - labelcolumns + labelcolumns *
labelrows
Next i
ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Sort FieldNumber:="Column 1"
ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Rows(1).Select
Selection.Paste
ActiveDocument.Tables(1).Columns(1).Delete