Covid-19: 22% drop in the number of internships in companies in 2020

All sectors of activity were affected by this sharp decrease in 2020 which "can be explained almost entirely by the collapse of internship entries during the first confinement, from March to May, a period during which they are usually very numerous. ", specifies the Dares in a publication Tuesday.

The number of internships per year - for more than two months or paid beyond the legal franchise in the private sector excluding agriculture and individual employers - was 225.000 in 2020, after 289.000 in 2019, a decrease by 22%, whereas it had increased regularly in 2019 as in 2018 (+ 4% per year).

The decrease is 24% in March 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, then 87% in April and 50% in May. "From June, internship entries return to levels similar to 2019, without compensating for the very sharp decline in spring," said Dares.

Those under 20 are the most affected by the drop (-39% of internship entries compared to 2019). Next come the over 25s (-17%). The decline is more limited (-13%) for 21-25 year olds, who represent the largest number of internships (160.000 per year on average over the last three years).

The drop concerns all sectors of activity except human health and social action, where the number of internships has increased by 16%. The strongest decline is in accommodation and catering (-50%, to reach 6.700 in 2020). It is more moderate in the manufacturing industry (-29%), and commerce (-26%) which each represent 40.000 internship entries per year on average in 2018 and 2019.

The other service sectors are resisting a little better: -18% for information-communication, -16% for financial activities, -15% for specialized, scientific and technical activities (main sector employing interns with 64.000 internships per year on average in 2018 and 2019).

This statement is based on the nominative social declaration of companies.

It includes a provisional estimate for the months of November and December 2020, specifies the Dares.