Today Facebook launched the Social Jobs Partnership’s (SJP) application [https://www.facebook.com/socialjobs/app_417814418282098], a new tool that will make it easier for people on Facebook to find and share employment opportunities.

The new SJP app is a central location hosted on the world’s largest social network, giving users free access to more than 1.7 million US jobs in a single tool and instantly creating one of the world’s largest job boards.

The aggregated 1.7 million openings comes from recruiting companies already working on the platform, including Work4 Labs, BranchOut, Jobvite, DirectEmployers and Monster.com. “Today’s launch of the Social Jobs Application highlights what we’ve known all along—that both recruiters and job seekers benefit when jobs are posted where candidates spend their time, and research overwhelmingly tells us that this is on Facebook,” said Stéphane Le Viet, CEO of Work4 Labs. “Undoubtedly, there will be an acceleration of the shift to social media as the primary channel to find a job with the extraordinary push of this consortium. We are fully committed to making the Social Jobs Application on Facebook the best possible resource for connecting candidates and companies.”

The Social Jobs Partnership is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the Direct Employers Association (DE), the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) and Facebook.

A collection of interesting stats shared by Facebook and Work4Labs:

• 1 Billion potential candidates and growing (user base of Facebook)
• Jobboards have 70 Million profiles, LinkedIn 175 Million profiles online
• 18.4 Million Americans found a job with Facebook
• 1 out of every 7 minutes spent online in the world is spent on Facebook

• Half of employers (50 percent) are using Facebook in their hiring process. A majority (54 percent) already using the social network anticipates Facebook becoming a more important part of the talent acquisition process in the near future.
• Nearly 90 percent of companies stated that Facebook has decreased the amount of print advertising needed with regards to their recruiting efforts, making Facebook a cost effective way to find new talent.
• Of companies using Facebook to acquire new potential employees, more than half state the importance of networking and referrals. The number one suggestion by recruiters (87 percent) is for candidates using Facebook to ‘Like’ a desired company’s Facebook page, followed by using Facebook as a networking tool.

Interested to learn more? Find out in our next ‘Recruitment via Facebook‘ masterclass.