The summer job market is upon us and with good news — companies are stepping up their summer hiring. Forty-one percent of employers plan to hire seasonal workers for the summer, a significant jump from 29 percent last year. Of those who are hiring summer workers, 34 percent are hiring a friend, 30 percent a family member and 19 percent their child.

The national survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder between February 16 to March 9, 2017 and included representative samples of 2,587 full-time employers (of which 2,380 are in the private sector) and 3,420 full-time workers across industries and company sizes.

Not all summer jobs are temporary. A large majority of employers hiring this summer (79 percent) say they will consider some summer hires for permanent positions — up from 76 percent last year.

"Don't approach your summer position as if it's only a temporary job. From the start, find out what your responsibilities are, what is expected of you and how your job impacts the company's bottom line," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. "You should view it as an extended job interview. This is an opportunity for the company to get to know you, to show them what you bring to their organization and to show how you can become a valuable asset."

A look at who's hiring this summer
Employers hiring seasonal workers this summer by company size:

• Companies with 50 or fewer employees — 28 percent are hiring summer workers, compared to 23 percent last year.

• Companies with 250 or fewer employees — 37 percent, compared to 27 percent last year.

• Companies with more than 500 employees — 45 percent, compared to 31 percent last year.

Employers hiring seasonal workers, comparing the ten most populous cities

Miami: 66 percent

New York: 58 percent

Los Angeles: 45 percent

Washington DC: 46 percent

Chicago: 40 percent

Houston: 38 percent

Boston: 33 percent

Dallas: 29 percent

Atlanta: 28 percent

Philadelphia: 21 percent

Summer pay is heating up
More than 3 in 4 employers hiring for the summer (79 percent) will pay their summer hires or interns $10 or more per hour on average — up from 74 percent in 2016. One in 5 employers (19 percent) plan to pay $20 or more per hour.

More than three-fourths of employers hiring for the summer (76 percent) plan to offer their seasonal workers pay increases if they work with their organization for more than one summer.

The types of jobs available
Although summer jobs are commonly associated with recreation and outdoor work, many employers whose companies are hiring for the summer say they are hiring for a variety of professional and support positions, including:

• Engineering: 27 percent

• IT: 27 percent

• Customer service: 22 percent

• Office support: 19 percent

• Sales: 15 percent

• Manufacturing: 12 percent

• Banking: 11 percent

• Retail: 9 percent

• Research: 9 percent

• Hospitality/leisure: 8 percent

Most unusual summer jobs
While lots of people find work as lifeguards or camp counselors, many go off the beaten path to find their summer paychecks. When asked what is the most unusual summer job they have ever had, employees said: 

• Being a theme park ride tester

• Wrangling alpacas

• Tagging turtles on a Florida beach

• Being a carnivore keeper at a big cat rescue center

• Getting bitten by mosquitos for pay

• Setting headstones onto grave sites

• Picking up cigarette butts at an arcade

• Delivering telegrams dressed as Groucho Marx

• Flipping college dorm rooms into hotel-like suites for a business conference

• Arranging butterflies to be sold to collectors