NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Employers recruited more than half their interns for full-time positions last year, the highest rate of intern-to-staff hiring in a decade, according to survey results released Thursday.
The survey showed that companies turn 58% of their interns into full-time employees.
"That's the highest conversion rate we've seen since we started tracking this on an annual basis in 2001," said Marilyn Mackes, executive director for the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
The findings from the annual survey are a strong sign that interning could be a direct path to full-time work for students.
This isn't just about employers ramping up their use of interns for entry-level positions. Interns are also showing more willingness to accept the offers, according to the survey.
In 2010, 86.5% of interns offered a full-time accepted it, setting a new high water mark from 2009, when 83.9% of interns accepted job offers.
"This suggests that students were somewhat wary about the job market and opted to take the offer rather than gamble that something better would come along," said Mackes. 
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