JobsPlus pilot implementation and process evaluation

Interim report and technical annex

One in four working-age adults who are economically inactive live in social housing, and many of these residents are not engaged with any employment support, highlighting the need for targeted action to improve access to decent work and progression opportunities. The Get Britain Working White Paper (2024) called for locally led, integrated services to address economic inactivity, poor health, and skills gaps.

JobsPlus is a place-based, community-led employment programme, which is designed to tackle these problems. It aims to help people into work through on-site employment services, community support, and financial incentives. JobsPlus was evaluated in the United States, showing partnership between landlords, tenants and key local services can lead to better, long-term employment outcomes for residents.

In April 2024, the JobsPlus pilot programme secured funding for 2024-26 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in conjunction with the HM Treasury Labour Markets Evaluation and Pilots Fund. The Youth Futures Foundation (YFF) also committed funds from November 2024 to March 2026 for delivery and evaluation focused on participants aged 16-24. Subsequently, in June 2025 additional funding was confirmed by DWP for April 2025 to March 2026. The pilot was delivered by housing associations (HAs) in 10 sites. Sites were selected to include: a mix of urban and rural areas; between 300 and 1000 households; most of the accommodation owned by housing associations; and a relatively high proportion of households likely to have no-one in work.

Emerging outcomes

Despite the early stages of the pilot, there was positive emerging evidence of employment outcomes:

• 18% (n=83) of JobsPlus participants secured employment. Of these, 15% (n = 69) were out of work at the time of registration and subsequently secured employment and 3% (n=14) were already in work and transitioned into a new role.

• Over a quarter (27%, n=47) of participants who were out of work at registration and who registered in the first three or four months moved into work.

• More than half (n = 47) of employment outcomes (defined as entering employment or changing job) achieved after registering for JobsPlus resulted in permanent contracts.

• Around three-fifths of participants who were not in employment at the time of registration and gained employment following participation in JobsPlus (n = 26) reached the two-month in-work bonus milestone.

• Participants also reported improvements in mental health and wellbeing, confidence, social inclusion, and job readiness. 

These interim reports cover the evaluation of the JobsPlus pilot programme. The final evaluation report (due 2026) will build on the early findings to consider JobsPlus delivery from April 2025 onwards. It will provide evidence on how the programme operates across different local, outcomes for diverse groups, and enablers and barriers to effective delivery. The report will include cross-site comparisons, explore the evolution of delivery models and partnerships, and assess long-term support, in-work support, and employment journeys. Importantly, it will consider scalability and potential for the wider implementation of the programme. An impact evaluation is also being conducted, with results published in Spring 2026.