Writing Task 1 (Academic Test)

The line chart presents information on the proportions of jobless people in three European societies between 1991 and 2021. Overall, the percentages of unemployed people were generally larger in Spain and Greece than in Italy over this period.

In 1991 the levels of unemployment in Italy and Greece were similar, between 7 and 10 percent, while in Spain the jobless level was higher at around 15%. Over the next ten years Spain saw a dramatic increase and then fall in its unemployment level, hitting a peak around 1995 before falling. During this time the unemployment rates in Italy and Greece were relatively stable. In the following several years, from 2001 until 2008, all three countries had similarly low unemployment rates between 5 and 10%.

Around 2008 the percentages of unemployed citizens in Greece and Spain rocketed, reaching around 25% in 2013. The jobless rate in Italy also increased but more slowly and reached a high point at roughly 12%. The numbers of unemployed fell sharply in Spain and Greece after 2013 and by 2021 the percentages had reached 15% in both countries. During the same period the unemployment rate in Italy remained around 10%.