However, the Department also told us that it was concerned about the into-work rate, which has been declining since 2021–22.28 The rate increased to 9.7% in 2021–22, but declined in the following two years, to 8.2% in 2023–24. The Department said that external factors, like the labour market and the fall in the number of vacancies, are were making it more difficult and leading to a reduction in into-work rates.29 It also said that work coaches are seeing a more complex caseload, with customers who are further away from the labour market.30