Band 9: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below. You should write at least 150 words.

The bar chart compares the number of leisure hours per week enjoyed by men and women across five employment categories in 1998-99.

Overall, unemployed and retired individuals had significantly more free time than those in work, and in most groups men reported higher leisure levels than women. Housewives were the only category represented exclusively by women.

Full-time employees recorded the lowest figures, with men enjoying approximately 45 hours of leisure weekly, while women had slightly less, at about 38 hours. Among part-time workers, women experienced marginally more free time than men, with around 40 and 35 hours respectively.

A striking feature of the chart is the substantial amount of leisure among the unemployed and retired, both groups exceeding 80 hours. Men in these categories reached peaks of roughly 85 hours, compared with just over 80 hours for their female counterparts.

Housewives reported around 50 hours of leisure time, which, although lower than that of the unemployed and retired, was still higher than that of women in either full-time or part-time work.