The recession certainly took its toll on business majors over the past couple of years. But, according to an article in the New York Times, it looks like things may finally be starting to look up. In fact, the article reports that a growing number of banks are approving hiring this year and are looking more optimistically toward the future.

With banks finally starting to stabilize, more business students are finding open internships and banking positions available. Furthermore, more students are enrolling in finance clubs and taking class trips to Wall Street. Nonetheless, unemployment remains a serious problem for millions of families throughout the country. In addition, many are still feeling bitter about bank bailouts that have often been accompanied by eight-figure bonuses to members of upper management.

Although there is still some uncertainty regarding the future of the economy, business students and career advisors are reporting that the job market is stabilizing quickly. At the same time, they are feeling the anger from the general public, despite the fact that many of them were still in college when the bottom fell out on the economy.

“A lot of people lost their savings, and I can understand those people being angry,” said Ben Phelps, who is an M.B.A. student at Duke who was shouted at by a stranger this past summer while participating in a Wall Street internship. “But I wish sometimes that their anger wasn’t directed just at bankers.”

The negative public perception hasn’t stopped most from pursuing a career in banking, however, as there are still plenty of business majors who are interested in a career within this sector. Fortunately for these business majors, the competition for internships is a little less steep than it was in 2009. In fact, the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business reports that the number of banks conducting interviews has increased by 20 percent this year and the number of job offers has increased by 33 percent.

“There’s reason for students to be optimistic,” said Tracy Handler, who is a spokeswoman for the M.B.A. Career Services Council, which is an association of business school career advisers. “Any signs of recovery are modest. But business schools are looking ahead and seeing a light at the end of what is now a pretty short tunnel.”

According to a survey conducted by the M.B.A. Career Services Council in December, 39% of business schools anticipate seeing an increase in internship opportunities, while 26% expect there to be a decrease. At Duke University, the business school career office reported that there were twice as many investment banking internships available for students last month when compared to the previous year. In addition, four new banks conducted interviews at the school this year. Consequently, the number of students who submitted resumes to banks also went up by 37 percent, while the number of students participating in the Week on Wall Street trip also increased from 60 to 90.

“Ironically, this can be a superb time to enter banking,” said Jeff Fischer, who is the director of career management at the business school at the University of North Carolina. “The M.B.A. population is like the end of a whip. When cycles swing up and down, students are the ones who swing up and down the most in terms of employment.”

Although there is no denying that banks are still being cautiously optimistic, business school counselors are advising students to be persistent because they believe the banks will soon be creating more positions than their former interns will be able to fill.