Interest in positions at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has reached a record high as professionals and new graduates look to the public sector for improved job security levels, it has been reported.

Despite the fact that the CIA, as with other public sector defense organizations, tends to pay less for positions including IT specialists and administrative jobs, demand for roles continues to rise in line with the rise in unemployment being seen across the US.

As reported by the Associated Press (AP), competition for analyst jobs is particularly high thanks to a combination of an ongoing recruitment campaign being carried out by the CIA and the fact that the market is becoming increasingly flooded with out-of-work finance sector specialists.

Ron Patrick, an official responsible for recruitment at the agency, told the AP: "So far this year we received 90,000 resumes and if we stay at that level we will probably get close to 180,000 resumes in 2009."

At present, the CIA boasts a workforce of around 20,000 employees, with the majority of positions based at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia.