Internship hiring slows as finance pulls back sharply

Internship hiring has slowed multiple industries since 2023, reflecting a more cautious approach to early-career recruiting. Declines have been particularly pronounced in sectors such as finance, IT, and healthcare; finance and insurance internship openings have dropped nearly 60% from Q1 2023. Finance has historically relied on internships to build pipelines for entry-level analyst roles, making the drop especially significant. Despite the broad pullback, manufacturing continues to offer the highest number of internship opportunities, underscoring the sector’s ongoing need to build skilled talent pipelines.