The line graph shows information about the proportion of employed men and women aged 18-34 in Australia between 1976 and 2011.
Overall, men’s employment rates showed a general increase with age in both years, whereas women’s figures tended to decline over the same period. Employment among younger people aged 18 to 25 was comparatively lower for men but higher for women in both years, indicating an opposite pattern between the genders in early adulthood. Notably, men’s employment reached its highest point in 1976, representing the peak figure shown in the chart.
In terms of male employment, the figures rose overall with age in both years, although the pattern differed slightly between 1976 and 2011. In 1976, the proportion of employed men started at around 55% at age 18 and increased steadily to approximately 70% by the mid-twenties. After a brief period of stability, the rate climbed sharply in the early thirties, reaching a peak of about 85% at age 34, which was the highest figure on the chart. A similar upward trend was observed in 2011, but at lower levels, beginning at roughly 42% and rising more gradually to just over 70% by the oldest age group.
By contrast, female employment showed an overall decline as age increased. In 1976, the rate for women began at just above 50% at age 18 and then fell steadily to around 35% by age 34, with a more noticeable drop after the mid-twenties. The pattern in 2011 was slightly different in the early years, as the figure rose marginally from about 47% to nearly 48% at age 25 before decreasing sharply thereafter. By the early thirties, female employment had fallen below 40%, eventually reaching the lowest level on the graph at approximately 33% among 34-year-olds.