As unemployment continues to hover around 8% nationally, the federal government is beginning to (finally) think outside of the box in terms of helping out-of-work citizens find new jobs, and they're turning to an unlikely ally in that effort: Facebook.

As NextGov is reporting, Facebook is partnering with the Department of Labor and several private employment associations in an attempt to make social media a key component to the online job search for those suffering through unemployment.

"By leveraging the power of the social Web, this initiative will provide immediate, meaningful and ready-to-use information for job seekers and employers, and a modern platform to better connect them," Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said in a statement.

Labor will team up with private groups such as the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, DirectEmployers Association and the National Association of Colleges and Employers to help solidify their efforts. So far the early returns are mostly positive with over 8,600 Facebook users "liking" the initiative's official page which will eventually serve as a gateway to job listings and employment resources.

"We've brought employers, recruiters, college career services and government agencies together to help the millions of Americans who use Facebook to find jobs," Facebook vice president of global policy Marne Levine said at a Department of Labor press conference on Thursday.

The ultimate success of this program will not be known until the formerly-unemployed begin specifically crediting it with helping them find work. But with the snail's pace of job growth an ongoing source of frustration for both average Americans and the Obama administration, this latest program certainly seems to hold some promise for helping to close the nation's enormous prosperity gap.