Leading Issues in the Economy of Pakistan: Agenda for Reforms Figure 13.2:% Change in Real Wage* of Workers between 2017-18 and 2020-21 A= Elementary Occupations B= Craft Workers C= Technicians and Associate Professionals D= Plant& Machine Operators E= Service& Sales Workers *Cumulative increase in consumer price index of 29.4% Source: PBS An attempt has also been made to quantify the number of‘idle’ male youth in Pakistan. They are more likely to be prone to religious and political extremism, violence, crime, and participation in social unrest at a time when living conditions are worsening. The number of‘idle’ male youth in 2020-21 is large at 6,780,000. This number represents a big increase of almost 30 percent from the number of‘idle’ male youth in 2017-18. Clearly, this is a matter of great concern. It is likely to rise to a above 8 million in 2022-23. 13.2 Rise in Poverty The above findings are that in the aftermath of the floods there is likely to be a quantum jump in the number of unemployed workers and the working poor, The implication is that there will also be a big jump in the incidence of poverty in Pakistan. The projections of the incidence of poverty from 2018-19 onwards are made since the determinants of poverty identified and their role quantified by the Macroeconomic Model, as shown in Chart 13.1. 130