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Reference: CollegeJolt

With the job market in a slump following the economic crises, unpaid internships for university students are becoming more common, and authorities are concerned.  Officials in Oregon, California and New York have begun investigating as the trend violates minimum wage standards, and some employers have already received fines.  It is difficult to ascertain the number of unpaid internships being undertaken because the interns are hesitant to come forward, worried that they will be become known troublemakers in the field where they hope to gain employment.

Lance Choy from Stanford University has seen a big rise in the number of unpaid internships advertised at the university.  Employers posted 643 unpaid internships on their job board this academic year, compared with 174 posted two years ago.  He attributes it to employers wanting to keep costs down, and students wanting to improve their resumes.

In 2008, the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 83 percent of graduating students had held internships, which is 9% more than  in 1992. This equals hundreds of thousands of students undertaking internships each year, and some experts estimate that up to half of them are unpaid.

This problem is not just limited to the US.  Anywhere that the demand for employment is greater than the number of jobs available, unpaid internships are going to be an issue.  Many students travel to Argentina to learn Spanish and undertake internships, a high number of which are not paid.  The popular website Craigslist lists jobs that are available mainly for English speakers, and there are often people leaving warnings about companies who offer interships that are really just an excuse for free labour.

Internships are a great opportunity for students or recent graduates to gain valuable experience, and it can be rewarding for a company as well.   Hopefully employers can find a balance and reward interns for the work that they do, as it would be a shame to see companies stop offering internships due to legal issues.

Source: New York Times

Tags: Argentina, Stanford University, United States, Unpaid Internships