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Background Unemployment is associated with poorer health and increased mortality when compared to paid employment. The role of job quality is still unclear within the health effects of a transition into employment. We aimed to synthesize the effects of moving from unemployment (including out of work disabled/long term sick) into paid employment, according to job quality, on health.Methods We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science (Social Sciences Citation Index) and EconLit from inception to March 2025. We double screened all titles, abstracts and full texts. We used a validated template for extraction and the ROBINS-E tool (Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies - of Exposure) for assessing risk of bias. Certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE. Synthesis without meta-analysis (SWIM) was conducted, based on effect direction. Meta-analysis for selected studies is ongoing.Results We identified a total of 7366 studies and screened 7314 abstracts and 290 full texts. The final sample included 24 papers assessing mental health, physical health, subjective wellbeing/life satisfaction, self-reported health and biomarkers. Studies covered 10 high-income countries, most commonly the UK and USA. SWIM indicated mostly health improvements when transitioning to high quality jobs compared to staying unemployed. Transitions to low quality jobs had more mixed and negative association but were still mostly associated with improved health outcomes. High quality was associated with greater health improvements compared to low quality jobs in most studies.Conclusion Transitions into paid employment are generally associated with improved health regardless of job quality compared to staying unemployed. However, due to the high risk of bias rating across most of the studies, further research is needed to establish causality and robustness of this effect and better inform welfare and employment policies.