Spotlight Online for Employment and Recruiting Professionals, March 31, 2010

Spotlight Online for Career Services Professionals, March 31, 2010

Employers will bring on more interns this year than they did last year, according to results of NACE’s 2010 Internship Survey. 

The survey shows a 2.9 increase in the number of students taking part in employer-sponsored internships. While this represents a modest increase, it is a significant turnaround from 2009 when the intern hiring rate dropped by more than 20 percent. 

However, the increase in intern hiring is not across the board. In fact, finance (-38.6 percent), engineering services (-18.9 percent), and chemical (pharmaceutical) manufacturers (-11 percent), among others, are decreasing their internship opportunities for 2010. Offsetting these are increases from other industries, including computer and electronics manufacturers (22.8 percent), government (40.3 percent), retail trade (15.6 percent), and miscellaneous professional services (39.3 percent). 

Similarly, intern hiring plans vary by region. Employers in the Northeast (-5.5 percent) and Midwest (-4 percent) report declines, while the Southeast (13.7 percent) and West (5.6 percent) report increases. Even in regions where the overall hiring level is expected to decline there can be hotspots where intern recruiting is expected to significantly increase. These areas include the Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia area; Ohio; North Carolina; Texas; and the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington). 

NACE’s 2010 Internship Survey was conducted January 11 – February 26, 2010. A total of 235 organizations responded. The survey report will be available this spring.