One local organization is helping recently-graduated lawyers secure summer paid internships.

The State Bar of Georgia's Young Lawyers Division recently announced its plan to fund several 10-week legal aid internships in an effort to give new law school graduates some work experience amid a tough economy.

Overall, the YLD hopes to fund five $5,000 internships in public interest law next summer. According to an article by the Fulton County Daily Report, the organization will use the proceeds from its annual black-tie fundraiser to fund the internships.

The YLD is waiting to see exactly how much money it will have for internships, which will be offered throughout the state, before it makes alliances with nonprofits and begins accepting applications. One well-known organization, Georgia Legal Services Program, has already shown interest in partnering with the YLD.

"(We want to) match the growing number of people who can't afford legal services with the growing number of young lawyers trying to get out there and get skills to make themselves more marketable," YLD President Amy V. Howell said, adding that any new lawyers looking to gain some experience will be eligible to apply.

The YLD came up with the idea to fund the internships after it received complaints from many new lawyers who don't have the work experience to market themselves and are therefore unable to get jobs. In addition to the declining economy, new lawyers looking for jobs also are being forced to compete with laid-off lawyers who generally have years of legal experience.

At the end of last year, Jerry Kowalski, co-founder of legal consultant Kowalski & Associates, predicted that hiring would decrease for summer associates this year by 35 percent from 2008.

For recent college graduates in the United Kingdom, entry level jobs (Click here) in the public sector may be the way to go.

In the United Kingdom, half of all college graduates end up working in the public sector. Even though the current unemployment rate there is 7.9 percent, the number of organizations looking to recruit college graduates has remained strong.

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit, a research charity, recently released "What Do Graduates Do?" That report found that during 2008 the number of graduates entering healthcare, teaching and social work increased significantly.

The number of entry level social workers increased the most, edging up by 55 percent from 2007 to more than 2,500 employees. Those working as medical practitioners or pre-registration house officers increased by 15 percent, from 4,430 workers in 2007 to 5,100 workers in 2008.The number of secondary school teachers increased by 14 percent, from 1,850 in 2007 to 2,110 in 2008.

Currently, more recent graduates are opting for jobs in the public sector in order to maintain a higher level of job security amidst the current economic recession. However, the trend is unlikely to continue, as government spending is expected to decrease next year.

Although major positions, such as those in education and healthcare, are less likely to be affected, fewer positions for those entering the workforce will be available in local and central government.

"As the economy recovers in 2010 we will see a reduction in people going into public sector roles," Charlie Ball, deputy research director at HECSU, told the Times Online. "In the past 10 years the public sector has had unprecedented access to talent. It will need to do its best to keep hold of that talent in the coming years."

Another recent report from the Centre for Cities found that of the 1.2 million jobs created between 1998 and 2007, 69 percent were in the public sector. However, 290,000 public sector jobs are expected to be lost throughout the United Kingdom by 2014.

While job prospects for new graduates are extremely low, a new report found that students who opted for internships during their college career fared better than those who did not. Visit http://www.experience.com to learn more about internships.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers' 2009 Student Survey found that only 19.7 percent of graduates from the class of 2009 who applied for jobs had one by the end of April. Of those, about 23 percent of graduates with internship experience had a job, while only 14 percent of students without internship experience managed to find work.

"It’s not surprising that employers look first to their interns - who have a track record with the company - when they have jobs to fill," NACE Executive Director Marilyn Mackes said.

The survey further found that more than 50 percent of college seniors who responded to the report had internship experience, but less than 25 percent of them received job offers from the organization they interned with.

"The Class of 2009 saw significant cuts in hiring, and even an internship is not a guarantee of a job offer," Mackes added. "However, the numbers show that, especially in a tough job market, the student who has an internship has a distinct advantage over students who don’t have that experience."

More than 35,000 students representing more than 840 colleges and universities throughout the country took part in the survey, which was conducted between February 19 and April 30. Of those students, 16,500 were graduating seniors.

The major reason students are having trouble finding work - internship experience or not - is the state of the national economy. During September, the country lost 263,000 jobs while the unemployment rate increased to 9.8 percent.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unemployed people in America has increased by 7.6 million to 15.1 million since the recession began in December 2007, and the unemployment rate has doubled to reach its current rate.