In weak economy, employers still seek interns

ARINC was searching for an intern and Kimberly Laubscher had all the stats: a University of Virginia engineering major who holds a 3.79 GPA.

And she had hometown appeal: The South River High School valedictorian interned at ARINC last year and knew an employee on the inside.

Ms. Laubscher is one of 25 paid interns working this summer at the Annapolis-based global avionics firm. Despite a sluggish economy where companies are scaling down employee numbers or implementing hiring freezes, companies like ARINC still are hiring interns in an attempt to find talent and meet work force needs down the road, experts said.