Background and Context

Labour Market Insights

The estimated unemployment rate for those aged 16+ years in Scotland, based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey (LFS), was 4.4% in January - March 2026, which is lower than the UK rate of 5.0%. However, estimated economic inactivity (where they are not in employment and have not actively sought work) rates for 16 - 64 years old in Scotland was 22.7% in January - March 2026, higher than the UK rate of 20.9% (Labour Market Trends: May 2026 (Opens in a new window)).

No One Left Behind is an employability approach centred on the people that access it. It aims to treat people with dignity and respect, to have fairness and equality at its heart, and to continuously improve. NOLB support is voluntary, tailored to an individual’s circumstances and responsive to the needs of people of all ages who want help and support on their journey (which may not be linear) towards, into and in work - particularly people with health conditions, disabled people and others who are disadvantaged in the labour market.

There is also the additional benefit of Employability Support to the Scottish economy by ultimately supporting people into employment from insecure or low hours/pay jobs, unemployment or economic inactivity. Even a relatively small increase in the economic activity rate of 0.25 percentage points could boost GDP in the long-term by around 0.1%, or around £180 million a year (in 2024-25 prices) (Scottish economic insights: October 2024 (Opens in new window)).

It is within this context of improving people’s lives and the Scottish economy that Employability Support aims to help people move towards and into sustained employment.

Further insights on Labour Market Statistics can be found at Labour Market Statistics (Opens in new window). Estimates should be treated with caution as there is increased uncertainty around LFS estimates due to decreasing sample sizes in recent years. For more details, see SG Quality Assessment of the ONS LFS and APS Data for Scotland (Opens in new window). 

The Reach of No One Left Behind and Progression of Participants

Participants differ in their support needs based on their own unique circumstances and individual journeys will differ in nature and pace, with progression dependent on what a positive outcome means to that individual. However, it is essential that No One Left Behind reaches all those needing support regardless of these differing circumstances.

It is also important to recognise that while employment is the ultimate goal, many participants receiving support may be far from the Labour Market. There are a number of positive outcomes they can achieve which supports their progress towards employment.  This means broadening our understanding of success from a focus on job outcomes to the actual steps taken and progress made towards work. The flexibility of the No One Left Behind approach allows people to come in and out of support as often as is needed, so the time between the initial start date and that to achieve certain progression outcomes can vary considerably.

Note on Progression Methodology

Participants entering and sustaining employment are key indicators. This information is collected by key workers, who note down initial employment details and carry out 4, 13, 26 and 52 week follow-ups with the participants that achieve employment as an outcome. This data was reported for the first time in October 2023.

As official statistics in development, we are continually reviewing our methodology and engaging with users to ensure our publication meets the Code of Practice for Statistics standards of trustworthiness, quality and value. This is important on the journey towards these statistics becoming official statistics. In line with this, we carried out a thorough review of our progression methodology and made a number of changes in May 2025 to ensure our publication provides a clear picture on how those entering employment are progressing (see Review of Progression Methodology for Devolved Employability Statistics Quarterly Publication (opens in new window) for more details). Please note, there are still some methodological points that need considered for this data:

• No One Left Behind differs from other employability support programmes such as Fair Start Scotland and those offered by DWP in key ways that means comparisons are not appropriate.
• Not all participants can be reached at follow-up points therefore only those that respond and confirm employment are counted as in employment at follow-up points.
• Prior to October 2025, there was no consistent method for key workers to record follow-up outcomes for participants who were not found to be in employment. For the first time in this publication, we are able to report a full breakdown of follow-up outcomes for participants whose follow-up checks were due between October 2025 and March 2026. While this provides valuable insights into participants who were not counted as being in employment during this period, it is important to note that the analysis is based only on the most recent follow-up checks. As a result, it does not provide a complete picture of historical trends.
• Information on the 4 week employment follow-up check has only been collected from October 2022 onwards.

Please consider these methodological points when interpreting the following statistics on progression.