CNNMoney (11/14/12) Julianne Pepitone

Facebook is moving into the job search space with a Social Jobs App that includes listings from services like Monster and BranchOut. The app launched on Nov. 14 and currently includes 1.7 million job listings. It is part of the Social Jobs Partnership initiative, which Facebook formed in October 2011 in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor and three nonprofit labor organizations.

LinkedIn, which had about 187 million members as of Sept. 30, has positioned itself as the king of professional networking, but if the new app takes off, Facebook could become a more direct competitor in the professional space. At launch, the app includes job listings from Monster, BranchOut, DirectEmployers Association, Work4Labs, and Jobvite. Job seekers can search for positions based on industry, keywords, and location. Facebook touted its own ability to help in the recruiting field: About half of employers “are using Facebook in their hiring process,” according to Social Jobs Partnership research, and 54% of those polled said they expect the social network will become a more important part of hiring in the future.