[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 193 (Friday, October 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57071-57072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19707]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Labor Surplus Area Classification; Under Executive Orders 12073 
and 10582

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce the annual list of 
labor surplus areas for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008.

DATES: Effective Date: The annual list of labor surplus areas is 
effective October 1, 2007 for all states, the District of Columbia, and 
Puerto Rico.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony D. Dais, Office of Workforce 
Investment, Employment and Training Administration, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Room S-4231, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-
2784 (This is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Labor's regulations 
implementing Executive Orders 12073 and 10582 are set forth at 20 CFR 
Part 654, Subparts A and B. These regulations require the Assistant 
Secretary of Labor for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) 
to classify jurisdictions as labor surplus areas pursuant to the 
criteria specified in the regulations and to publish annually a list of 
labor surplus areas. Pursuant to those regulations, the Assistant 
Secretary of Labor is hereby publishing the annual list of labor 
surplus areas.
    In addition, the regulations provide exceptional circumstance 
criteria for classifying labor surplus areas when catastrophic events, 
such as natural disasters, plant closings, and contract cancellations 
are expected to have a long-term impact on labor market area 
conditions, discounting temporary or seasonal factors.

Eligible Labor Surplus Areas

Procedures for Classifying Labor Surplus Areas

    Under the labor surplus area classification methodology, areas are 
classified as having a surplus of labor based on civil jurisdictions 
rather than on metropolitan statistical areas or labor market areas. 
Civil jurisdictions are defined as all cities with a population of at 
least 25,000 and all counties. Townships with a population of 25,000 or 
more are also considered as civil jurisdictions in four states 
(Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania). In Connecticut, 
Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island, where counties have very 
limited or no government functions, the classifications are done for 
individual towns.
    A civil jurisdiction is classified as a labor surplus area when its 
average unemployment rate was at least 20 percent above the average 
unemployment rate for all states (including the District of Columbia 
and Puerto Rico) during the previous two calendar years. During periods 
of high national unemployment, the 1.20 percent ratio is disregarded 
and an area is classified as a labor surplus area if its unemployment 
rate during the previous two calendar years was 10 percent or more. 
This 10 percent ``ceiling'' comes into effect whenever the two-year 
average unemployment rate for all states was 8.3 percent or above 
(i.e., 8.3 percent times the 1.20 ratio equals 10.0 percent). 
Similarly, a ``floor'' of 6.0 percent is used during periods of low 
national unemployment in order for an area to qualify as a labor 
surplus area. The six percent ``floor'' comes into effect whenever the 
average unemployment rate for all states during the two-year reference 
period was 5.0 percent or less.
    The Department of Labor issues the labor surplus area list on a 
fiscal year basis. The list becomes effective each October 1 and 
remains in effect through the following September 30. The reference 
period used in preparing the current list was January 2005 through 
December 2006. The national average unemployment rate during this 
period was 4.9 percent. Applying the ``floor'' concept, the 
unemployment rate for an area to qualify as having a surplus of labor 
for FY 2008 is 6.0 percent. Therefore, areas included on the FY 2008 
labor surplus area list had an average unemployment rate of 6.0 percent 
or above during the reference period. The FY 2008 labor surplus area 
list can be accessed at http://www.doleta.gov/programs/lsa.cfm.

Petition for Exceptional Circumstance Consideration

    The classification procedures also provide for the designation of 
labor surplus areas under exceptional circumstance criteria. These 
procedures permit the regular classification criteria to be waived when 
an area experiences a significant increase in unemployment which is not 
temporary or seasonal and which was not reflected in the data for the 
two-year reference period. Under the program's exceptional circumstance 
procedures, labor surplus area classifications can be made for civil 
jurisdictions, Metropolitan Statistical Areas or Primary Metropolitan 
Statistical Areas. In order for an area to be classified as a labor 
surplus area under the exceptional circumstance criteria, the state 
workforce agency must submit a petition requesting such classification 
to the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. 
The current criteria for an exceptional circumstance classification 
are: an area unemployment rate of at least 6.0 percent for each of the 
three most recent months; a projected unemployment rate of at least 6.0 
percent for each of the next 12 months; and documentation that the 
exceptional circumstance event has already occurred. The state 
workforce agency may file petitions on behalf of civil jurisdictions, 
as well as Metropolitan Statistical Areas or Primary Metropolitan 
Statistical Areas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). The addresses of state workforce agencies are available in this 
notice and on the ETA Web site at http://www.doleta.gov/programs/lsa.cfm. State workforce agencies may submit petitions in electronic 
format to [email protected], or in hard copy to the U.S. Department 
of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Workforce 
Investment, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room S-4231, Washington, DC 
20210. Data collection for the petition is approved under OMB 1205-
0207, dated November 23, 2004.

State Workforce Agencies

Alabama--Department of Industrial Relations, 649 Monroe St., Room 2204, 
Montgomery 36131.
Alaska--Department of Labor & Workforce Development, P.O. Box 111149, 
Juneau 99811-1149.
Arizona--Arizona Department of Economic Security, P.O. Box 6123, Site 
Code 901A, Phoenix 85005.
Arkansas--Employment Security Department, P.O. Box 2981, Little Rock 
72203.
California--Employment Development Department, 800 Capitol Mall, 
Sacramento 95814.
Colorado--Department of Labor and Employment, 633 17th Street, suite 
1200, Denver 80202-3660.

[[Page 57072]]

Connecticut--Connecticut Department of Labor, 200 Folly Brook 
Boulevard, Wethersfield 06109.
Delaware--Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Employment & 
Training, 4425 North Market Street, Wilmington 19802.
District of Columbia--Department of Employment Services, 64 New York 
Avenue NE., Suite 3000, Washington 20002.
Florida--Agency for Workforce Innovation, 107 E. Madison Street, Suite 
212, Caldwell Building, Tallahassee 32399-4120.
Georgia--Georgia Department of Labor, 148 Andrew Young International 
Boulevard NE., Suite 600, Atlanta 30303.
Hawaii--Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, 830 Punchbowl 
St., Room 321, Honolulu 96813.
Idaho--Department of Labor, 317 W. Main Street, Boise 83735.
Illinois--Department of Employment Security, 33 S. State Street, 
Chicago 60602-2802.
Indiana--Department of Workforce Development, 10 North Senate Avenue, 
Room SE 302, Indianapolis 46204-2277.
Iowa--Iowa Workforce Development, 1000 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines 
50319.
Kansas--Kansas Department of Commerce, 1000 SW. Jackson Street, Suite 
100, Topeka 66612-1354.
Kentucky--Department of Workforce Investment, 275 East Main Street, 
Frankfort 40601.
Louisiana--Department of Labor, P.O. Box 94094, 1001 N. 23rd Street, 
Baton Rouge 70804.
Maine--Department of Labor, 45 Commerce Drive, P.O. Box 259, Augusta 
04332-0259.
Maryland--Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, 1100 N. Eutaw 
Street, Room 616, Baltimore 21201.
Massachusetts--Division of Unemployment Insurance, 19 Staniford Street, 
3rd Floor, Boston 02114.
Michigan--Department of Labor & Economic Growth, Ottowa Building--4th 
Floor, 611 W. Ottawa Street, Lansing 48909.
Minnesota--Department of Employment & Economic Development, 332 
Minnesota Street, Suite E 200, St. Paul 55101-1351.
Mississippi--Employment Security Commission, 1235 Echelon Parkway, 
Jackson 39213.
Missouri--Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, P.O. Box 504, 
421 East Dunklin, Jefferson City 65102.
Montana--Department of Labor and Industry, 1327 Lockey, P.O. Box 1728, 
Helena 59624-1728.
Nebraska--Department of Labor, 550 South 16th Street, Lincoln 68509.
Nevada--Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, 500 E. 
Third Street, Carson City 89713.
New Hampshire--Department of Employment Security, 32 S. Main Street, 
Concord 03301.
New Jersey--Department of Labor and Workforce Development, P.O. Box 
110, John Fitch Plaza, Trenton 08625-0110.
New Mexico--Department of Labor, 401 Broadway, NE., P.O. Box 1928, 
Albuquerque 87103.
New York--Department of Labor, State Campus-Building 12, Albany 12240.
North Carolina--Employment Security Commission, P.O. Box 25903, Raleigh 
27611.
North Dakota--Job Service North Dakota, 1000 E. Divide Ave., P.O. Box 
5507, Bismarck 58506-5507.
Ohio--Department of Jobs and Family Services, 30 E. Broad Street, 32nd 
Floor, Columbus 43215.
Oklahoma--Employment Security Commission, 2401 North Lincoln Boulevard, 
Oklahoma City 73105.
Oregon--Oregon Employment Department, 875 Union St., NE., Salem 97311.
Pennsylvania--Department of Labor & Industry, 7th and Forster Streets, 
L&I Building, 17th Floor, Harrisburg 17121.
Puerto Rico--Department of Labor and Human Resources, 505 Munoz Rivera 
Avenue, P.O. Box 364452, Hato Rey 00936-4452.
Rhode Island--Department of Labor & Training, 1511 Pontiac Avenue, 
Cranston 02920.
South Carolina--Employment Security Commission, P.O. Box 995, Columbia 
29202.
South Dakota--Department of Labor, 700 Governors Drive, Pierre 57501.
Tennessee--Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 710 James 
Robertson Parkway, 8th Floor--Andrew Johnson Tower, Nashville 37243 .
Texas--Texas Workforce Commission, 101 East 15th Street, Room 618, 
Austin 78778.
Utah--Department of Workforce Services, 140 East 300 South, Salt Lake 
City 84145-0249.
Vermont--Department of Labor, 5 Green Mountain Drive, P.O. Box 488, 
Montpelier 05601-0488.
Virginia--Virginia Employment Commission, 703 East Main Street, 
Richmond 23219.
Washington--Employment Security Department, P.O. Box 9046, Olympia 
98507-9046.
West Virginia--Bureau of Employment Programs, 112 California Ave., 
Charleston 25305.
Wisconsin--Department of Workforce Development, 201 East Washington 
Street, Room A400, Madison 53702.
Wyoming--Department of Employment, 1510 E. Pershing Boulevard, 2nd 
Floor, Cheyenne 82002.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 1 day of October 2007.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary, Employment & Training Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-19707 Filed 10-4-07; 8:45 am]
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