Regulate unfair unpaid internships

Some 1.78 million students in the United States will graduate from colleges this summer and try to squeeze into the weak labor market. Meanwhile, millions of graduates-to-be hope to gain some real-work experience to add to their resumes.

Jia Fei, a Chinese international student in the US, is one of this year's summer interns. He recorded his road trip on his micro blog. After driving for four days, the communications major at Washington State University arrived in Los Angeles, where he rented a room for his two-month internship at a local music studio. His duties are mainly administrative and public relations work. It is unpaid.

Unpaid internships concern many people. The National Association of Colleges and Employers in the US issued a statement last summer, calling for a review of the six criteria that are used to determine whether internships can be unpaid. And Ross Eisenbrey, vice-president of the Economic Policy Institute in the US, is one of those who argue that illegal unpaid internships are the scourge of the job market. He also said that unpaid internships exclude students from less privileged families, especially those who will graduate in debt.