Facebook may be the new jobs portal on the block

While Facebook has always been the destination for one looking to maintain and widen their digital social circle, the site is working towards becoming the new jobs portal on the block, cite reports. The 800 million-strong social network is reportedly planning its own job board and it will be joining hands with companies like BranchOut, JobVite and Work4Labs for this project. At the moment, however, it is unclear if the job posts will appear in users' news feed.

Reportedly, Facebook joined forces with the U.S Department of Labor and three employment-related agencies last October in a bid to reduce the country's unemployment rate (9.1 percent) with the use of social media - and it was then that Facebook for the first time hinted at its plans for becoming a source for job hunters. "As part of the initiative, Facebook launched a “Social Jobs” portal that makes educational content and tools from its partners at the Department of Labor, National Association of Colleges and Employers, Direct Employers Association, and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, easily accessible. It plans to promote this page in the 10 states with the highest unemployment rates and Puerto Rico," reports state.

New destination for job listings?

No points for guessing that if Facebook indeed jumps onto the bandwagon, it'll be in the space with LinkedIn, the popular social networking site for professionals. With the new partnership, however, Facebook is looking at entering the job listings arena.

Facebook's other plans include foraying into the app development market. The site  grabbed headlines yesterday when reports about it launching its App Center in India surfaced. Apparently, App Center makes it easy to find apps through your friends and gives apps another way to grow. Each person has a personalized experience in App Center, with recommendations based on the apps they and their friends use, whether it be games, fashion, food, fitness, travel, or any other lifestyle app. The apps are shown according to recommendations by users. The App Center is available on mobile via the Facebook app for iOS and Android, or by accessing Facebook.com on mobile.

Facebook also recently launched a new type of mobile advertising that targets consumers according to what apps they use, giving companies better options to track what people do on their phones. Facebook is tracking apps through Facebook Connect - which lets users log into websites and apps with their Facebook accounts. The company then uses that data to target ads, said people familiar with the company’s plans. Facebook may also track what users do on the apps, but that is yet to be decided by the company.

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