Are you worried about your future internship and employment prospects? Please don't stress too much. We have found encouraging data to fuel your passion and ignite your resolve. Working as a remote intern may be one of the best opportunities for securing a fulltime, permanent position at a good company.

Stastista estimates there are about 5,000 colleges in India. In the United States there are 3,000. In Indonesia there are estimates of 2,500, roughly 2,500 in China and 1,000 in Japan. In South America, Brazil holds the title of having the most universities of higher learning with more than 1,200. Mexico hosts a similar amount. In Europe, Russia holds the title of the highest number of colleges within its borders with 1,000. Germany houses half that amount.

Given these examples as well as those not mentioned shows that there is definitely a crowded market of college students and recent college graduates searching for remote internships.

It doesn't help either that during the pandemic 682 million students were impacted by fully closed schools (primary, secondary and universities of higher learning) spanning across 57 countries with fully closed schools in March 2021. In total Statista reports that 1.5 billion students were impacted by the pandemic. Many students had to forego internships and apprenticeship programs altogether because of testing, mandated closures, and social distancing.

The good news is that there are internship opportunities available. In the U.S. alone,  Zippia projects that about 300,000 students gain job experience by interning each year. About 40% of the internships do not provide a salary while about 60% do. Some college graduates obtain internshps even after they earn their diploma. Zippia estimates that about 31% of recently graduated students begin their internship program after graduating from college.

Based upon this exciting information about internships,  it is not entirely bleak out in the working world!

Stanford University actually reports that slowed economies can be good for college students and recent college graduates looking for work. Here are some highlights to encourage you.

• The number of internships posted increased by about 40% from 2021 to 2022 on Handshake
• The number of regular jobs increased by almost 50% from 2021 to 2022

Further, employers participating in a National Association of College and Employer (NACE) survey indicated that they planned to hire almost 15% more new college graduates from the current graduating class (2023) than they did last year.

Reduced per employee cost represents another vantage point that is a definite positive for students and recent graduates seeking remote internships. Even though some employers may be hesitant to increase their head count in an economic downturn, hiring remote interns can be much more affordable, cost considerably less to hire, may be more enthusiastic, can cost less to recruit and orient upon eventual hire and bring a wealth of skills to the table.