BOSTON -- In a sign of just how tough it is to find work in the struggling economy, a group of recent college grads in Massachusetts have created a Web site that allows job seekers to try for positions based on who will work for the lowest salary.

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The three men, two of them Williams College graduates and a third who is currently a sophomore at Brown University, have launched a site called www.jobaphiles.com where people can bid on jobs posted by employers.

The site was created in 2008 with the vision of creating a "student labor yellow pages,” said Thai Nguyen, CEO of Jobaphiles.com.

Similar to eBay’s bidding system, Jobaphiles.com visitors can bid on job positions by stating how much they are willing to be paid. They can also post why they are qualified and create a profile that includes a photo.

Employers can then select the most qualified and affordable bidder to hire for the job.

Nguyen, who manages the site's business-related affairs, including marketing and hiring, said it might be the right tool for many in an extremely tight job market --especially for recent grads.

“College tuitions are on the rise and there are hiring freezes for many entry-level jobs,” he said.

Massachusetts’ unemployment was 5.9 percent in November and rising.

Nguyen is banking on www.Jobaphiles.com representing the future of job competition.

Signing up for Jobaphiles.com is free for both employers and students looking for jobs. Nguyen said the site has more than 1,300 job postings that range from HTML programming to baby-sitting.

Currently, the majority of job postings are for part-time positions in the Boston area.

“We saw a shift in jobs, towards a higher demand for part-time work from small-scale businesses because of the economy,” said Nguyen.

Jobaphiles.com also has a section where students can post their services and employers can hire them depending on their needs. Some students said they have already benefitted.

“Jobaphiles is great. Within a few days of getting on the site a comedian hired me to re-do his Web site. I earned enough to cover my student loan payments for a couple of months,” said Ben Brooks, a June Williams College graduate.

Currently, they said, the site is aimed at Boston-area grads, but there is always room for growth on the Internet.