Facebook and Labor Department Announce Partnership to Help the Unemployed

Facebook users will be directed to four Department of Labor resources: the "My Skills, My Future" portal, which helps laid-off workers find new jobs based on the skills they already have; the "My Next Move" portal, which does the same for new employees, like recent college graduates or people without post-secondary education; the Web site onestop.org, which lists more than 3,000 local career centers that can help people with their résumés and interview skills; and the Job Corps program for people aged 16 to 24.

In addition to the dedicated partnership page, Facebook will run public service announcements in the 10 states where unemployment is highest, plus Puerto Rico, and distribute informational materials to would-be employees and employers alike.

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Socia Media - Job Postings' Frontier

The resources offered will be fine-tuned based on the results of surveys about "how job seekers, college career centers and workforce recruiters are using the social Web," Levine said. "Our labor market is changing, and so should the tools used to find these jobs."

But the initiative is less about developing new tools and more about publicizing existing tools and making them more widely available.

"Our resources are only as good as when people use them," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said. Through Facebook, "we can get to 132 million people. Oh my God, that is incredible, and I know it's going to keep growing."

3 Million Jobs Open

When it comes to reducing unemployment, most political attention has focused on creating new jobs -- but right now, there are three million jobs that are open but can't be filled because applicants don't have the right skills, and the people who do have those skills aren't finding the listings. In fact, Levine cited a McKinsey study that found that 50 percent of companies had been unable to fill some open positions within six months.

"There's a gap we can't seem to close. There are great people out there who are looking for jobs and great employers who can't find the right talent," Levine said. "At Facebook, we are in the business of connecting."

She gave the example of a San Diego resident named Noah Saltman who had experience working with solar energy and found a job with Altech Solar through the company's Facebook page. "He used Facebook to get a feel for the company before he walked through the door," she said. "He said, 'Facebook allowed me to interview them before they even interviewed me.'"

The Goal: Link More Job Seekers to Jobs