Despite economic conditions, salaries for summer interns will get more competitive this year.

On average, employers will pay interns an hourly wage of $17.13 — 5% higher than last year — according to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Interestingly, however, the survey also reported employers will be offering about 21% fewer internships this year than in 2008.

Here’s the average hourly pay broken down by the intern’s field of study:

• Business — $15.93
• Communications — $16.00
• Sciences — $16.60
• Computer Sciences — $17.20
• Engineering — $18.26

Of course, those are national numbers. When benchmarking your own intern compensation, you’ll need to take a look at regional data, too.

Tags: benchmark, compensation, interns, National Association of Colleges and Employers, salary, survey