If college grads want jobs, seek paid internships in school

A report suggests internships help college students find jobs, especially internships in which the students are paid.

The Economic Policy Institute released a brief on a student survey on internships and jobs. The survey found: Overall, an employer was far more likely to offer a job to a student prior to graduation if he or she had an internship or co-op — especially a paid position. The gap in offer rates between students with internship/co-op experience and those without such experience grew from 12.6 percent in 2011 to 20 percent in 2015 (56.5 percent versus 36.5 percent).

Paid internships with private, for-profit companies led to the highest job offer rate (72.2 percent). Only 43.9 percent of students who had unpaid internships with private, for-profit companies received offers.