[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 59 (Friday, March 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16450-16456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07031]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Lower Living Standard 
Income Level

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Title I of WIOA requires the U.S. Secretary of Labor 
(Secretary) to update and publish the LLSIL tables annually, for uses 
described in the law (including determining eligibility for youth). 
WIOA defines the term ``low income individual'' as one who qualifies 
under various criteria, including an individual who receives, or 
received for a prior six-month period, income that does not exceed the 
higher level of the poverty line or 70 percent of the LLSIL. This 
issuance provides the Secretary's annual LLSIL for 2015 and references 
the current 2015 Health and Human Services ``Poverty Guidelines.'' 
These provisions in WIOA pertaining to LLSIL reflect no change from the 
prior language under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended.

DATES: This notice is effective March 27, 2015.
    For Further Information or Questions on LLSIL: Please contact 
Samuel Wright, Department of Labor, Employment and Training 
Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room C-4526, Washington, 
DC 20210; Telephone: 202-693-2870; Fax: 202-693-3015 (these are not 
toll-free

[[Page 16451]]

numbers); Email address: [email protected]. Individuals with 
hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone number above via 
Text Telephone (TTY/TDD) by calling the toll-free Federal Information 
Relay Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY/TDD).
    For Further Information or Questions on Federal Youth Employment 
Programs: Please contact Jennifer Kemp, Department of Labor, Employment 
and Training Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-4464, 
Washington, DC 20210; Telephone: 202-693-3377; Fax: 202-693-3113 (these 
are not toll-free numbers); Email: [email protected]. Individuals 
with hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone number 
above via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY/TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of WIOA is to provide workforce 
investment activities through statewide and local workforce investment 
systems that increase the employment, retention, and earnings of 
participants. WIOA programs are intended to increase attainment of 
recognized postsecondary credentials by participants and the quality of 
the workforce, thereby reducing welfare dependency, increase economic 
self-sufficiency, meet the skill requirements of employers, and enhance 
the productivity and competitiveness of the Nation.
    LLSIL is used for several purposes under WIOA. Specifically, WIOA 
Section 3(36) defines the term ``low income individual'' for 
eligibility purposes, and Sections 127(b)(2)(C) and 132(b)(1)(B)(v)(IV) 
define the terms ``disadvantaged youth'' and ``disadvantaged adult'' in 
terms of the poverty line or LLSIL for State formula allotments. The 
governor and state/local workforce development boards (WDBs) use the 
LLSIL for determining eligibility for youth and adults for certain 
services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 
published the most current poverty-level guidelines in the Federal 
Register on January 22, 2015 (Volume 80, Number 14), pp. 3236-3237. The 
HHS 2015 Poverty guidelines may also be found on the Internet at http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/15poverty.cfm. ETA plans to have the 2015 LLSIL 
available on its Web site at http://www.doleta.gov/llsil/2015/.
    WIOA Section 3(36)(B) defines LLSIL as ``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 fall 1981. The four-person urban family budget estimates, previously 
published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), provided the 
basis for the Secretary to determine the LLSIL. BLS terminated the 
four-person family budget series in 1982, after publication of the fall 
1981 estimates. Currently, BLS provides data to ETA, which ETA then 
uses to develop the LLSIL tables, as provided in the Appendices to this 
Federal Register notice.
    ETA published the 2014 updates to the LLSIL in the Federal Register 
of March 27, 2014, at Vol. 79, No. 59 pp. 17184-17188. This notice 
again updates the LLSIL to reflect cost of living increases for 2015, 
by using the percentage change in the most recent 2014 Consumer Price 
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for an area, and then applying 
this calculation to each of the March 27, 2014 LLSIL figures. The 
updated figures for a four-person family are listed in Appendix A, 
Table 1, by region for both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. 
Numbers in all of the Appendix tables are rounded up to the nearest 
dollar. Since program eligibility for ``low-income individuals,'' 
``disadvantaged adults,'' and ``disadvantaged youth'' may be determined 
by family income at 70 percent of the LLSIL, pursuant to WIOA Sections 
3(36), 127(b)(2)(C), and 132(b)(1)(B)(v)(IV), respectively, those 
figures are listed as well.

I. Jurisdictions

    Jurisdictions included in the various regions, based generally on 
the Census Regions of the U.S. Department of Commerce, are as follows:

A. Northeast

    Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virgin Islands.

B. Midwest

    Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, 
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin.

C. South

    Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, 
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Marshall Islands, Maryland, 
Micronesia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Northern Marianas, Oklahoma, 
Palau, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West 
Virginia.

D. West

    Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 
Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
    Additionally, separate figures have been provided for Alaska, 
Hawaii, and Guam as indicated in Appendix B, Table 2.
    For Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam, the year 2015 figures were updated 
from the 2014 ``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 West regional metropolitan change, and then applying 
that index to the West regional metropolitan change.
    Data on 23 selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) are also 
available. These are based on annual and semiannual CPI-U changes for a 
12-month period ending in December 2014. The updated LLSIL figures for 
these MSAs and 70 percent of LLSIL are reported in Appendix C, Table 3.
    Appendix D, Table 4 lists each of the various figures at 70 percent 
of the updated 2014 LLSIL for family sizes of one to six persons. 
Because Tables 1-3 only list the LLSIL for a family of four, Table 4 
can be used to separately determine the LLSIL for families of between 
one and 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 70 
percent of the LLSIL figure, the figure is shaded. A modified Microsoft 
Excel version of Appendix D, Table 4, with the area names, will be 
available on the ETA LLSIL Web site at http://www.doleta.gov/llsil/2015/. Appendix E, Table 5, indicates 100 percent of LLSIL for family 
sizes of one to six.

II. Use of These Data

    Governors should designate the appropriate LLSILs for use within 
the State from Appendices A, B, and C, containing Tables 1 through 3. 
Appendices D and E, which contain Tables 4 and 5, which adjust a family 
of four figure for larger and smaller families, may be used with any 
LLSIL designated area. The governor's designation may be provided by 
disseminating information on MSAs and metropolitan and non-metropolitan 
areas within the state or it may involve further calculations. For 
example, the

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State of New Jersey may have four or more LLSIL figures for Northeast 
metropolitan, Northeast non-metropolitan, portions of the state in the 
New York City MSA, and those in the Philadelphia MSA. If a workforce 
investment area includes areas that would be covered by more than one 
LLSIL figure, the governor may determine which is to be used.

III. Disclaimer on Statistical Uses

    It should be noted that publication of these figures is only for 
the purpose of meeting the requirements specified by WIOA as defined in 
the law and in any subsequent guidance or regulations. 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 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 those purposes under WIOA as defined in the law.

Appendix A

    Table 1--Lower Living Standard Income Level (for a Family of Four
                         Persons) by Region \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    2015
                  Region \2\                      Adjusted    70 Percent
                                                   LLSIL        LLSIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast:
  Metro.......................................      $41,954      $29,368
  Non-Metro \3\...............................       41,994       29,396
Midwest:
  Metro.......................................       37,014       25,910
  Non-Metro...................................       35,711       24,998
South:
  Metro.......................................       38,485       26,939
  Non-Metro...................................       35,533       24,873
West:
  Metro.......................................       42,887       30,021
  Non-Metro \4\...............................       42,727       29,909
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For ease of use, these figures are rounded to the next highest
  dollar.
\2\ Metropolitan area measures were calculated from the weighted average
  CPI-U's for city size classes A and B/C. Non-metropolitan area
  measures were calculated from the CPI-U's for city size class D.
\3\ Non-metropolitan area percent changes for the Northeast region are
  no longer available. The Non-metropolitan percent change was
  calculated using the U.S. average CPI-U for city size class D.
\4\ Non-metropolitan area percent changes for the West region are based
  on unpublished BLS data.

Appendix B

    Table 2--Lower Living Standard Income Level (for a Family of Four
                Persons), for Alaska, Hawaii and Guam \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    2015
                    Region                        Adjusted    70 Percent
                                                   LLSIL        LLSIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska:
  Metro.......................................      $48,043      $33,630
  Non-Metro \2\...............................       51,152       35,806
Hawaii, Guam:
  Metro.......................................       51,810       36,267
  Non-Metro \2\...............................       54,609       38,226
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For ease of use, these figures are rounded to the next highest
  dollar.
\2\ Non-Metropolitan percent changes for Alaska, Hawaii and Guam were
  calculated from the CPI-U's for all urban consumers for city size
  class D in the Western Region. Generally the non-metro areas LLSIL is
  lower than the LLSIL in metro areas. This year the non-metro area
  LLSIL incomes were larger because the change in CPI-U was smaller in
  the metro areas compared to the change in CPI-U in the non-metro areas
  of Alaska, Hawaii and Guam.

Appendix C

    Table 3--Lower Living Standard Income Level (for a Family of Four
                   Persons), for 23 Selected MSAs \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           2015 Adjusted    70 Percent
  Metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs)        LLSIL           LLSIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anchorage, AK...........................         $49,244         $34,471
Atlanta, GA.............................          34,612          24,228
Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA/NH/ME/CT.....          44,808          31,366
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL/IN/WI..........          38,019          26,613
Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH/KY/IN...........          36,218          25,353
Cleveland-Akron, OH.....................          37,538          26,276
Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX....................          34,141          23,899
Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO..............          38,300          26,810
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI.............          35,521          24,865
Honolulu, HI............................          52,741          36,919
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX..........          34,462          24,124
Kansas City, MO/KS......................          34,915          24,440
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA.          42,615          29,830
Milwaukee-Racine, WI....................          36,595          25,617
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN/WI.............          36,540          25,578
New York-Northern NJ-Long Island, NY/NJ/          45,053          31,537
 CT/PA..................................
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,            40,652          28,457
 PA/NJ/DE/MD............................
Pittsburgh, PA..........................          44,495          31,147
St. Louis, MO/IL........................          34,317          24,022
San Diego, CA...........................          46,274          32,392
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA......          44,850          31,395
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA............          44,928          31,450
Washington-Baltimore, DC/MD/VA/WV \2\...          45,460          31,822
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For ease of use, these figures are rounded to the next highest
  dollar.
\2\ Baltimore and Washington are calculated as a single metropolitan
  statistical area.


[[Page 16453]]

Appendix D

Table 4: 70 Percent of Updated 2015 Lower Living Standard Income Level 
(LLSIL), by Family Size

    To use the 70 percent LLSIL value, where it is stipulated for 
WIOA programs, begin by locating the region or metropolitan area 
where the program applicant resides. These are listed in Tables 1, 2 
and 3. After locating the appropriate region or metropolitan 
statistical area, find the 70 percent LLSIL amount for that 
location. The 70 percent LLSIL figures are listed in the last column 
to the right on each of the three tables. These figures apply to a 
family of four. Larger and smaller family eligibility is based on a 
percentage of the family of four. To determine eligibility for other 
size families consult Table 4 and the instructions below.
    To use Table 4, locate the 70 percent LLSIL value that applies 
to the individual's region or metropolitan area from Tables 1, 2 or 
3. Find the same number in the ``family of four'' column of Table 4. 
Move left or right across that row to the size that corresponds to 
the individual's family unit. That figure is the maximum household 
income the individual is permitted in order to qualify as 
economically disadvantaged under WIOA.
    Where the HHS poverty level for a particular family size is 
greater than the corresponding LLSIL figure, the LLSIL figure 
appears in a shaded block. For individuals from these size families, 
consult the 2015 HHS poverty guidelines found on the Health and 
Human Services Web site at http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/15poverty.cfm 
to find the higher eligibility standard. For individuals from Alaska 
and Hawaii, consult the HHS guidelines for the generally higher 
poverty levels that apply in those States.


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Appendix E

Table 5: Updated 2015 LLSIL (100 percent), by Family Size

    To use the LLSIL to determine the minimum level for establishing 
self-sufficiency criteria at the State or local level, begin by 
locating the metropolitan area or region from Table 1, 2 or 3. Then 
locate the appropriate region or metropolitan statistical area and 
then find the 2015 adjusted LLSIL amount for that location. These 
figures apply to a family of four. Locate the corresponding number 
in the family-of-four column in the table below. Move left or right 
across that row to the size that corresponds to the individual's 
family unit.

                                                    Table 5.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Family of one      Family of two     Family of three     Family of four     Family of five     Family of six
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         12,298             20,153             27,662             34,141             40,296             47,121
         12,364             20,255             27,803             34,317             40,500             47,359
         12,417             20,342             27,920             34,462             40,671             47,564
         12,462             20,424             28,046             34,612             40,847             47,767
         12,569             20,604             28,290             34,915             41,205             48,190
         12,792             20,958             28,777             35,521             41,917             49,018
         12,802             20,972             28,784             35,533             41,932             49,038
         12,866             21,074             28,931             35,711             42,150             49,291
         13,042             21,377             29,346             36,218             42,744             49,986
         13,160             21,564             29,605             36,540             43,126             50,434
         13,175             21,595             29,646             36,595             43,188             50,506
         13,326             21,844             29,983             37,014             43,677             51,090
         13,517             22,157             30,409             37,538             44,301             51,803
         13,687             22,440             30,794             38,019             44,869             52,476
         13,794             22,604             31,031             38,300             45,196             52,860
         13,861             22,711             31,172             38,485             45,422             53,122
         14,643             23,991             32,933             40,652             47,979             56,104
         15,109             24,763             33,986             41,954             49,514             57,900
         15,121             24,786             34,026             41,994             49,562             57,952
         15,343             25,143             34,520             42,615             50,287             58,817
         15,384             25,213             34,617             42,727             50,427             58,977
         15,441             25,303             34,741             42,887             50,608             59,192
         16,027             26,263             36,050             44,495             52,514             61,411
         16,134             26,441             36,305             44,808             52,881             61,838
         16,155             26,471             36,331             44,850             52,929             61,904
         16,184             26,510             36,397             44,928             53,020             62,004
         16,222             26,588             36,494             45,053             53,163             62,184
         16,373             26,831             36,829             45,460             53,653             62,747
         16,668             27,304             37,488             46,274             54,609             63,868
         17,304             28,348             38,922             48,043             56,696             66,310
         17,736             29,065             39,893             49,244             58,118             67,959
         18,423             30,181             41,438             51,152             60,363             70,590

[[Page 16456]]

 
         18,662             30,571             41,974             51,810             61,140             71,508
         18,994             31,120             42,721             52,741             62,237             72,794
         19,666             32,227             44,237             54,609             64,441             75,363
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Portia Wu,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-07031 Filed 3-26-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FT-P