Level of poverty in Italy remained stable in 2009

Poverty in Italy remained stable in 2009 in spite of the economic crisis, affecting 4.7 per cent of the population or about three million people, the national statistics agency ISTAT said on Thursday.

ISTAT said poverty did not rise sharply during the crisis thanks to economic relief offered to families and a temporary layoff mechanism that allowed companies to halt operations for months at a time, with workers covered by public unemployment insurance.

Absolute poverty, ISTAT said, is the inability "to acquire goods and services essential to attain a lifestyle held as a minimum acceptabl".

Poverty remained higher in the south of the country, where it affected 7.7 per cent of the population, than in the richer north, where 3.6 per cent of residents can be considered poor.

Throughout 2009, 11 per cent of households, or almost eight million people, lived in "relative poverty", with less than half of the €983 that the average Italian spends each month.