Band 7+: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The charts below show the percentages of men and women aged 60-64 in employment in four countries in 1970 and 2000 Summaries the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparison where relevant. You should write at least 150 words.

The bar charts illustrate the proportions of males and females aged 60-64 working in four different nations in the years 1970 and 2000.

Overall, it is clear that the proportion of men in Australia and Belgium experienced a significant decrease, while the figures for the USA and Japan declined slightly throughout the period. In contrast, the rates of women aged 60–64 working in Australia and the USA saw a slight increase, whereas there was a slight drop for the two remaining countries.

In 1970, Japan had the highest percentage of men aged 60–64 in employment, at 84%, higher than that of the USA, before declining slightly to around 76% and 55% in 2000. Furthermore, the figures for Australia and Belgium witnessed a remarkable fall from 74% and 79% in 1970 to 47% and 19% in 2000.

On the other hand, in 1970, the percentage of women aged 60–64 with jobs in the USA, at 36%, was much higher than in Australia, which was at 18%; it then changed slightly to 38% and 19%, respectively, in 2000. In contrast, there was a slight decrease for Japan and Belgium, falling from 43% and 8% in 1970 to 40% and 7% in 2000.