Great news America, Facebook officially joined the move to help put you back to work. Last week, the social network joined forces with The Department of Labor (DOL), the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), DirectEmployers Association (DE), and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) to form the Social Jobs Partnership. The partnership, which can be found at http://facebook.com/socialjobs, aims to deliver employment resources to job seekers with the use of social media.

In their own words, the partnership intends to do the following:

1. The partnership will conduct in-depth survey research about the ways in which job seekers, college career centers, and workforce recruiters are using the social web.

2. The partnership will develop and launch a central page on Facebook that will host specialized resources, and content designed to help job seekers and employers.

3. The partnership will explore and develop systems where new job postings can be delivered virally through the Facebook site at no charge.

4. The partnership will promote existing employment programs and resources offered by government agencies for job hunters.

5. The partnership plans to distribute educational materials about leveraging the power of the social web to recruiters, government agencies and job seekers.

Each entity of Social Jobs will have its own set of responsibilities. The Department of Labor will provide resources and content to help unemployed Americans connect with companies who are looking to hire people. NASWA on the other hand, will help job seekers at a local level, and assist individuals by finding employment, evaluating their skills, helping them understand local labor market information, and offering insurance benefits to eligible people. DirectEmployers is an association that aims to provide employers with best practices and research to improve labor market efficiency. DE's role in Social Jobs is to share their knowledge of the employment industry to enable people to find and share relevant jobs. Finally we have the NACE. This organization is the one of the top resource providers for fresh college graduates. Its role in the partnership is to connect new college grads and alumni to employers, as well as give them job seeking tips and how-to articles.

The Social Jobs Partnership really says a lot about the power of social media. I don't think there's a medium out there that can disseminate information as well as the social web. I mean, these associations, (i.e. DOL, DE, NACE, and NASWA) have existed way before social media gained traction, but did America pay attention to them? I doubt it. Otherwise, why would they partner up with Facebook in the first place? Clearly, these organizations provide resources and services that are valuable to job seekers, but what they had to offer went unnoticed. Maybe they just weren't being marketed effectively, or it could be that job seekers are looking at all the wrong places. Either way, I applaud Facebook for coming to the rescue.

Of course, alleviating unemployment doesn't stop here. The Social Jobs Partnership will provide information, services, and opportunities, but how these resources are used will still be up to job seekers. I sure hope people use them wisely. After all, social media can only go so far.