Facebook edges further on to LinkedIn territory with job hunting app

Facebook has released a new app designed to help users find jobs, based on the Social Jobs Partnership app it started last year in collaboration with a variety of public agencies.

The initial service was promoted as a means to use social media to connect employers and job seekers.

Facebook says the app will start out offering over 1.7 million job postings in a variety of fields. Employment opportunities come from firms like BranchOut, DirectEmployers, Work4Labs, Jobvite and Monster.com.

"Social recruiting and social job seeking are standard practice in today's job market, and Facebook has become one of the primary social destinations. Jobvite research shows over half of all companies now recruit through Facebook," said Jobvite president and chief executive Dan Finnigan.

"As the pioneers of social recruiting, Jobvite is pleased to help our customers reach top talent through the Social Jobs Partnership. The Social Jobs Partnership is a major step forward in connecting employers and job seekers to help get Americans back to work."

Facebook's new app adds to the growing landscape of social job seeking platforms. According to a recent Jobvite survey, as many as 92 percent of job recruiters were using social networking sites to find qualified candidates.

At the time of the study it was also discovered that over two-thirds of recruiters surveyed were using Facebook to recruit job applicants.

Facebook new offering comes with news that its shares on Wall Street are on the rise. Shares in the company recently saw a jump of over 12 percent. At the time of this writing Facebook shares are trading at $22.36.

The jump in prices is attributed to the recent unlocking of 800 million company shares. Facebook employees and early investors were forced to hold onto the large sum of shares as part of an agreement with the stocks underwriters.