Human Security in Pakistan The third indicator is the relative price of food. It has increased over time, as shown in table 7.2 in relation to the overall consumer price index. This rising trend is further reinforced by the ongoing wheat flour crisis. The rise in food prices in the first nine months of 2022-23 is shown in Box 7.3. The fourth indicator of food security is cereal consumption per capita. Cereals are significant sources of iron, protein, vitamin E, vitamin B complex, fiber and carbohydrates. Sadly, this indicator also showed a downward trend till 2018-19, with a slight improvement in 2020-21. The last indicator is the wheat stock per capita. This has shown a fluctuating trend, as highlighted in the table 7.2. Wheat is the staple food of Pakistan. Efforts should be made to smooth out wheat stocks per capita so that human security is ensured for the masses of the country. Overall, the food security index has shown a fluctuating trend in Pakistan. Table 7.2: Trend in the Index of Food Security 2001-02 2005-06 2010-11 2015-16 2017-18 2018-19 1. Per capita food Consumption(Calories per day) Index 0.458 0.472 0.492 2. Share of Domestic Production in food consumption Index 0.523 0.455 0.454 3. Relative Price of food Index 0.682 0.653 0.509 4. Cereal consumption per capita Index 0.588 0.470 0.445 5. Wheat stock per capita Index 0.509 0.136 0.274 OVERALL INDEX 0.547 0.389 0.425 0.523 0.477 0.517 0.354 0.684 0.500 0.527 0.469 0.521 0.342 0.386 0.443 0.486 0.455 0.511 0.331 0.262 0.396 Latest Year 0.498 0.464 0.409 0.443 0.392 0.440 7.3 Employment and Wages The first indicator of employment and wages is the unemployment rate. In the case of Pakistan, the unemployment rate has shown a fluctuating trend. A worrying feature is that the unemployment rate is generally higher for the more educated workers. The second indicator is the labor force participation rate, and this represents the active workforce of an economy. The Labor Force survey by the PBS reports that this rate in the year 2020-21 was 44.8 percent. The trend values of these two indicators are shown in 52