Internship Demand Increases Because of Economy

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As the economy continues to decline and more people lose their jobs, the demand for internships (click here) continues to increase.

According to an article by NewsChannel 8, internship programs across the country are seeing a 15 to 25 percent increase in demand when compared to last year. The Washington D.C. area, which is home to many of the nation's most prestigious colleges and universities, also is noticing the high demand.

American University's Washington Semester program places students from around the world with internships. The program, which has been operating for 62 years, has seen a 20 percent increase in applications this year.

The program has 400 students enrolled this spring. Participating students usually come from all over the world, but end up returning to the D.C. area for work.

"We're receiving applications for our summer program of interning, and we already have 134 applications as of yesterday (February 5)," Dean David Brown said in the article.

Right now most of the program's 2,000 internships are unpaid and require college credit. However, Brown hopes to add a graduate school component to the program sometime soon.

"I think with the state of the economy, this program would look very, very popular to students who are graduating and are frankly scared when you hear about all the layoffs," Brown added.