BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Illinois Wesleyan’s Hart Career Center reports that students securing spring internships reached a record high of 136, up 30 percent from the most recent 5-year average of 105.

“The very competitive job market makes internships more important than ever for our students and they’ve received great interest from employers looking for talent,” said Laurie Diekhoff, assistant director and internship coordinator at the Hart Career Center. “These internships are with more than 60 corporations and organizations, including major companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers, Country Financial, Deloitte, Archer Daniels Midland and State Farm, plus a wide array of smaller companies, health care groups, governmental bodies and not-for-profits.”

Of the 136 internships, half are paid and 55 percent receive academic credit. While the majority of interns are juniors and seniors, Diekhoff said that the interest among freshmen and sophomores has increased with 14 of the spring internships belonging to first and second year students.