[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14824-14827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7944]



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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Job Training Partnership Act; Lower Living Standard Income Level

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of determination of lower living standard income level.

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SUMMARY: The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) provides that the term 
``economically disadvantaged'' may be defined as 70 percent of the 
``lower living standard income level'' (LLSIL). To provide the most 
accurate data possible, the Department of Labor is issuing revised 
figures for the LLSIL.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective on April 3, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Ms. Diane Mayronne, Office of 
Employment and Training Programs, Employment and Training 
Administration, Department of Labor, Room N-4463, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Diane Mayronne, Telephone: 202-
219-5305 (this is not a toll free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: It is a purpose of the Job Training 
Partnership Act (JTPA) ``to afford job training to those economically 
disadvantaged individuals . . . who are in special need of such 
training to obtain productive employment.'' JTPA Section 2; see 20 CFR 
626.1 and 626.3(b). JTPA Section 4(8) defines, for the purposes of JTPA 
eligibility, the term ``economically disadvantaged'' in part by 
reference to the ``lower living standard income level'' (LLSIL). See 20 
CFR 626.5.
    The LLSIL figures published in this notice shall be used to 
determine whether an individual is economically disadvantaged for 
applicable JTPA purposes. JTPA Section 4(16) defines the LLSIL as 
follows:

    The term ``lower living standard income level'' means that 
income level (adjusted for regional, metropolitan, urban, and rural 
differences and family size) determined annually by the Secretary 
[of Labor] based on the most recent ``lower living family budget'' 
issued by the Secretary.

    The most recent lower living family budget was issued by the 
Secretary in the fall of 1981. Using those data, the 1981 LLSIL was 
determined for programs under the now-repealed Comprehensive Employment 
and Training Act. The four-person urban family budget estimates 
previously published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provided 
the basis for the Secretary to determine the LLSIL for training and 
employment program operators. BLS terminated the four-person family 
budget series in 1982, after publication of the Fall 1981 estimates.
    Under JTPA, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) 
published the 1995 updates to the LLSIL in the Federal Register of 
April 25, 1995. 60 FR 20283. ETA has again updated the LLSIL to reflect 
cost of living increases for 1995 by applying the percentage change in 
the December 1995 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CIP-U), 
compared with the December 1994 CPI-U, to each of the April 25, 1995, 
LLSIL figures. Those updated figures for a family of four are listed in 
Table 1 below by region for both metropolitan and nonmetropolital 
areas. Since eligibility is determined by family income at 70 percent 
of the LLSIL, pursuant to Section 4(8) of JTPA, those figures are 
listed below as well.
    Jurisdictions included in the various regions, based generally on 
Census Divisions of the U.S. Department of Commerce, are as follows:

                                Northeast                               
                                                                        
Connecticut                       New York                              
Maine                             Pennsylvania                          
Massachusetts                     Rhode Island                          
New Hampshire                     Vermont                               
New Jersey                        Virginia Islands                      
                                                                        
                                 Midwest                                
                                                                        
Illinois                          Missouri                              
Indiana                           Nebraska                              
Iowa                              North Dakota                          
Kansas                            Ohio                                  
Michigan                          South Dakota                          
Minnesota                         Wisonsin                              
                                                                        
                                  South                                 
                                                                        
Alabama                           Kentucky                              
American Samoa                    Lousiana                              
Arkansas                          Marshall Islands                      
Delaware                          Maryland                              
District of Columbia              Mississippi                           
Florida                           Micronesia                            
Georgia                           North Carolina                        
Northern Marianas                 Tennessee                             
Oklahoma                          Texas                                 
Palau                             Virginia                              
Puerto Rico                       West Virginia                         
South Carolina                                                          
                                                                        
                                  West                                  
                                                                        
Arizona                           New Mexico                            
California                        Oregon                                
Colorado                          Utah                                  
Idaho                             Washington                            
Montana                           Wyoming                               
Nevada                                                                  
                                                                        

    Additionally, separate figures have been provided for Alaska, 
Hawaii,and Guam as indicated in Table 2 below.
    For Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam, the 1996 figures were updated by 
creating a ``State Index'' based on the ratio of the urban change in 
the State (using Anchorage for Alaska and Honolulu for Hawaii and Guam) 
compared to the

[[Page 14825]]
West regional metropolitan change, and then applying that index to the 
West regional nonmetropolitan change.
    Data on 25 selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) are also 
available. These are based on monthly, bimonthly or semiannual CPI-U 
changes for a 12-month period ending in December 1995. The updated 
LLSIL figures for these MSAs, and 70 percent of the LLSIL, rounded to 
the next highest ten, are set forth in Table 3 below.
    Table 4 below is a listing of each of the various figures at 70 
percent of the updated 1996 LLSIL for family sizes of one to six 
persons. For families larger than six persons, an amount equal to the 
difference between the six-person and the five-person family income 
levels should be added to the six-person family income level for each 
additional person in the family. Where the poverty level for a 
particular family size is greater than the corresponding LLSIL figures, 
the figure is indicated in parentheses.
    Section 4(8) of JTPA defines ``economically disadvantaged'' as, 
among other things, an individual whose family income was not in excess 
of the higher of the poverty level or 70 percent of the LLSIL. The 
Department of Health and Human Services published the annual update of 
the poverty-level guidelines at 61 FR 8286 (March 4, 1996).

Use of These Data

    Based on these data, Governors should provide the appropriate 
figures to service delivery areas (SDAs), State Employment Security 
Agencies, and employers in their States to use in determining 
eligibility for JTPA. The Governor should designate the appropriate 
LLSILs for use within the State from Tables 1 through 3. Table 4 may be 
used with any of the levels designated.
    Information may be provided by disseminating information on MSAs 
and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas within the State, or it may 
involve further calculations. For example, the State of New Jersey May 
have four or more figures: Metropolitan, nonmetropolitan, for portions 
of the State in the New York City MSA, and for those in the 
Philadelphia MSA. If an SDA includes areas that would be covered by 
more than one figure, the Governor may determine which is to be used. 
Pursuant to the JTPA regulations at 20 CFR 627.200, guidelines, 
interpretations, and definitions adopted by the Governor shall be 
accepted by the Secretary for the extent that they are consistent with 
the JTPA and the JTPA regulations.

Disclaimer on Statistical Uses

    It should be noted that the publication of these figures is only 
for the purpose of determining eligibility for applicable JTPA 
programs. BLS has not revised the lower living family budget since 
1981, and has no plans to do so. The four-person urban family budget 
estimates series has been terminated. The CPI-U adjustments used to 
update the LLSIL for this publication are not precisely comparable, 
most notably because certain tax items were included in the 1981 LLSIL, 
but are not in the CPI-U.
    Thus, these figures should not be used for any statistical 
purposes, and are valid only for eligibility determination purposes 
under the JTPA program.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 25th day of March, 1996.
Josephine Nieves,
Associate Assistant Secretary.

Appendix

       Table 1.--Lower Living Standard Income Level by Region \1\       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    1996                
                    Region                        adjusted    70 percent
                                                   LLSIL        LLSIL   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast:                                                              
  Metro.......................................       26,840       18,790
  Non-Metro...................................       26,920       18,840
Midwest:                                                                
  Metro.......................................       24,840       17,390
  Non-Metro...................................       23,640       16,550
South:                                                                  
  Metro.......................................       23,700       16,590
  Non-Metro...................................       22,340       15,640
West:                                                                   
  Metro.......................................       26,290       18,400
  Non-Metro...................................       26,110       18,270
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 \1\ For ease of calculation, these figures have been rounded to the    
  next highest ten dollars.                                             


  Table 2.--Lower Living Standard Income Level--Alaska, Hawaii and Guam 
                                   \1\                                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    1996                
                    Region                        adjusted    70 percent
                                                   LLSIL        LLSIL   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska:                                                                 
  Metro.......................................       33,980       23,790
  Non-Metro...................................       33,070       23,150
Hawaii-Guam:                                                            
  Metro.......................................       36,940       25,860
  Non-Metro...................................       35,950       25,160
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Rounded to the next highest ten dollars.                            


[[Page 14826]]


        Table 3.--Lower Living Standard Income Level--25 MSAs \1\       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    1996                
                  Region MSA                      adjusted    70 percent
                                                   LLSIL        LLSIL   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anchorage, AK.................................       33,980       23,790
Atlanta, GA...................................       23,620       16,530
Baltimore, MD.................................       25,060       17,542
Boston-Lawrence-Salem, MA/NH..................       28,120       19,680
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY.....................       24,360       17,050
Chicago-Gary-Lake County, IL/IN/WI............       25,990       18,200
Cinicinnati-Hamilton, OH/KY/IN................       25,140       17,600
Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, OH....................       25,600       17,920
Dallas-Ft Worth, TX...........................       22,570       15,800
Denver-Boulder, CO............................       25,460       17,820
Detroit-Ann Arbor, MI.........................       24,010       16,800
Honolulu, HI..................................       36,940       25,860
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX................       22,280       15,600
Kansas City, MO/KS............................       23,870       16,700
Los Angeles-Anaheim-Riverside, CA.............       27,150       19,010
Milwaukee, WI.................................       25,290       17,700
Minneapolis-St Paul, MN/WI....................       24,250       16,980
New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island, NY/NJ/CT..       28,010       19,610
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton, PA/NJ/DE/MD..       26,310       18,420
Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley, PA..................       25,140       17,600
St Louis-East St Louis, MO/IL.................       24,050       16,800
San Diego, CA.................................       27,390       19,170
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA............       27,050       18,940
Seattle-Tacoma, WA............................       28,130       19,690
Washington, DC/MD/VA..........................       28,540       19,980
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Rounded to the next highest ten dollars.                            


   Table 4.--Seventy Percent of Updated 1996 LLSIL, by Family Size\1\   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Family of                                                              
    one          Two         Three       Four        Five         Six   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(5,620)....     (9,200)     (12,640)      15,600      18,410      21,530
(5,630)....     (9,230)     (12,670)      15,640      18,460      21,580
(5,690)....     (9,320)     (12,800)      15,800      18,640      21,800
(5,950)....     (9,750)      13,390       16,530      19,510      22,810
(5,960)....     (9,770)      13,410       16,550      19,530      22,840
(5,970)....     (9,790)      13,440       16,590      19,580      22,890
(6,010)....     (9,850)      13,530       16,700      19,710      23,050
(6,050)....     (9,910)      13,610       16,800      19,820      23,180
(6,110)....    (10,020)      13,750       16,980      20,040      23,430
(6,140)....    (10,060)      13,810       17,050      20,120      23,530
(6,260)....    (10,260)      14,090       17,390      20,520      24,000
(6,320)....    (10,350)      14,210       17,540      20,700      24,210
(6,340)....     10,380       14,260       17,600      20,770      24,290
(6,370)....     10,440       14,340       17,700      20,890      24,430
(6,420)....     10,510       14,430       17,820      21,030      24,590
(6,450)....     10,570       14,520       17,920      21,150      24,730
(6,550)....     10,740       14,740       18,200      21,480      25,120
(6,580)....     10,780       14,800       18,270      21,560      25,210
(6,620)....     10,860       14,900       18,400      21,710      25,390
(6,630)....     10,870       14,920       18,420      21,740      25,420
6,760......     11,090       15,220       18,790      22,170      25,930
6,780......     11,120       15,260       18,840      22,230      26,000
6,820......     11,180       15,340       18,940      22,350      26,140
6,840......     11,220       15,400       19,010      22,430      26,230
6,900......     11,310       15,530       19,170      22,620      26,460
7,060......     11,570       15,880       19,610      23,140      27,060
7,090......     11,610       15,940       19,680      23,220      27,160
7,090......     11,620       15,590       19,690      23,230      27,170
7,190......     11,790       16,180       19,980      23,580      27,570
8,330......     13,660       18,750       23,150      27,320      31,950
8,560......     14,040       19,270       23,790      28,070      32,830
9,060......     14,840       20,380       25,160      29,690      34,720
9,310......     15,260       20,950       25,860      30,520      35,690
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Figures provided in Tables 1-3 of this notice are for a family of   
  four persons. To use Table 4, the appropriate figure should be found  
  in the Family of Four column. Then one may read across the row for    
  family sizes other than four in the appropriate column.               


[[Page 14827]]

[FR Doc. 96-7944 Filed 4-2-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-M