(ANSA) - Rome, April 14 - The government's 'inclusion wage' benefit for the poor is the "first step" against poverty in Italy, Premier Paolo Gentiloni said in signing a memorandum of understanding on the new measure Friday. "Today is a first result, and it is the first time that Italy passes a universal instrument," he said. Gentiloni said the recent economic crisis had left 1.5 million poor families in Italy. The 'inclusion wage' will be given to some two million people, Gentiloni said, adding that it was "a commitment for dignity and freedom from want".

Gentiloni signed the memorandum of understanding with the Alliance against Poverty (ACP) and Labour Minister Giuliano Poletti.

Explaining the main points of the agreement, ACO spokesman Roberto Rossini said "there are two underlying objectives: the first identifies the criteria to determine access to the measure and establishes the amount of benefit, while the second defines the instruments necessary to create real processes of social inclusion at a local level".

Some 4.5 million Italians were in "absolute poverty" in 2015, national statistics agency ISTAT said Friday.

This figure was relatively steady compared to 2014, ISTAT said.

Additionally, the statistics office said, some 8.3 million Italians were in conditions of "relative poverty".

The government has just passed a supplementary budget package that aims to lift families out of poverty, also via the so-called 'inclusion wage' benefit.

The government's recently approved economic blueprint, the DEF, sees 1.2 billion euros set aside this year and 1.7 billion in 2018 for the fight on poverty. The DEF outlines three areas of intervention: the so-called inclusion income benefit, the universal economic support for households in poverty, which will replace another system and extend its reach to 1.77 million people, and a reorganisation of the benefits.

In other economic news Friday, Italy's public debt fell to 2,24 trillion euros in February, the Bank of Italy said in a new report.

It was a 10.7-billion-euro-drop compared to February, the central bank said. Italy's public debt, at more than 133% of GDP, is the second-largest in GDP terms the eurozone after Greece's.

Italy's per capita GDP is 4.5% lower than the EU average and lower than Germany's by 23.6% and France's by 9.2%, ISTAT said. But it is is 5% higher than Spain's, the statistics office said. Successive governments have been trying to boost growth and have tried to steer the EU away from austerity policies and towards expansive policies.

Italian productivity registered an umpteenth fall in 2016, dropping by 1.6%, ISTAT went on.

Productivity has been flat in recent years and has risen by just 0.3% in the last 20 years, it said. The Italian economy is still struggling to generate pace out of Italy's longest postwar slump. The present Gentiloni government has passed several budget measures aimed at stoking growth. Italy is top in Europe for the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs), at 2.2 million of 15-29-year-olds, ISTAT also said.

ISTAT added that Italy still has "too few university graduates and too many drop-outs", leaving it far away from the EU averages in these categories. Italy is fourth-last in Europe for spending on education, ISTAT said.

