[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 98 (Tuesday, May 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23595-23601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10496]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) 2017; Lower 
Living Standard Income Level (LLSIL)

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (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 in a family with total family income for a six-month period 
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 
2017 and references the current 2017 Health and Human Services 
``Poverty Guidelines.''

DATES: This issuance is effective May 23, 2017.
    For Further Information or Questions on LLSIL: Please contact 
Samuel Wright,

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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 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 Sara Hastings, Department of Labor, Employment 
and Training Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-4508, 
Washington, DC 20210; Telephone: 202-693-3377; Fax: 202-693-3599 (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 (Pub. L. 113-128) 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 
the occupational skill attainment by participants and the quality of 
the workforce, thereby reducing welfare dependency and enhancing the 
productivity and competitiveness of the Nation.
    LLSIL is used for several purposes under the WIOA. Specifically, 
WIOA SEC.3(36)(A)(B) defines the term ``low income individual'' for 
eligibility purposes, and SEC.127(b)(2)(c), SEC.132(b)(1)(B)(IV), 
(V)(bb) 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 
(WDB) use the LLSIL for determining eligibility for youth and adults 
for certain services. ETA encourages governors and State/local boards 
to consult the WIOA Final Rule, for more specific guidance in applying 
LLSIL to program requirements. The U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services (HHS) published the most current poverty-level guidelines in 
the Federal Register on January 31, 2017 (Volume 82, Number 19), pp. 
8831-8832. The HHS 2017 Poverty guidelines may also be found on the 
Internet at https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines. ETA plans to have 
the 2017 LLSIL available on its Web site at http://www.doleta.gov/llsil.
    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 2016 updates to the LLSIL in the Federal Register 
of March 25, 2016, at Vol. 81, No. 58 pp. 16217-16223. This notice 
updates the LLSIL to reflect cost of living increases for 2016, by 
calculating the percentage change in the most recent 2015 Consumer 
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for an area to the 2016 
CPI-U, and then applying this calculation to each of the March 25, 2016 
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 Section 
3(36)(A)(ii) and Section 3(36)(B), 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, Northern Marianas, Oklahoma, Palau, Puerto Rico, 
South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Marshall Islands, Maryland, 
Micronesia, Mississippi, North 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 2017 figures were updated 
from the 2016 ``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 average CPI-U changes for a 12-
month period ending in December 2016. 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 2016 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. On the ETA LLSIL Web 
site at http://www.doleta.gov/llsil, a modified Microsoft Excel version 
of Appendix D, Table 4, with the area names and the LLSILs, that are 
lower than the Poverty level at a given family size will be shaded; 
will be available. Appendix E, Table 5, indicates 100 percent of LLSIL 
for family sizes of one to six, and is used to determine self-
sufficiency as noted at Section 3(36)(a)(ii) and Section 3 (36)(B), 
(C)(ii) in WIOA.

II. Use of These Data

    Governors should designate the appropriate LLSILs for use within 
the

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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 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.
    A state's policies and measures for the workforce investment system 
shall be accepted by the Secretary to the extent that they are 
consistent with WIOA and WIOA regulations.

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 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 and regulations.

Appendix A

    Table 1--Lower Living Standard Income Level (for a Family of Four
                         Persons) by Region \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           2017 adjusted    70 percent
               Region \1\                      LLSIL           LLSIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast: \2\                            ..............  ..............
    Metro...............................         $42,965         $30,075
    Non-Metro \3\.......................          42,370          29,659
Midwest:                                  ..............  ..............
    Metro...............................          37,679          26,376
    Non-Metro...........................          36,312          25,418
South:                                    ..............  ..............
    Metro...............................          36,555          25,588
    Non-Metro...........................          35,995          25,197
West:                                     ..............  ..............
    Metro...............................          42,033          29,423
    Non-Metro \4\.......................          41,838          29,287
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           2017 adjusted    70 percent
               Region \1\                      LLSIL           LLSIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska:                                   ..............  ..............
Metro...................................         $48,090         $33,663
Non-Metro \2\...........................          54,109          37,876
Hawaii, Guam:                             ..............  ..............
Metro...................................          53,638          37,547
Non-Metro \2\...........................          57,765          40,436
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs)    2017 adjusted    70 percent
                   \1\                         LLSIL           LLSIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anchorage, AK...........................         $49,293         $34,505
Atlanta, GA.............................          34,954          24,468
Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA/NH/ME/CT.....          46,026          32,218

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Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL/IN/WI..........          38,045          26,632
Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH/KY/IN...........          36,945          25,862
Cleveland-Akron, OH.....................          37,876          26,513
Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX....................          34,653          24,257
Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO..............          40,002          28,002
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI.............          35,765          25,035
Honolulu, HI............................          54,603          38,222
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX..........          35,399          24,779
Kansas City, MO/KS......................          35,441          24,808
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA.          42,947          30,063
Milwaukee-Racine, WI....................          36,926          25,848
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN/WI.............          37,533          26,273
New York-Northern NJ-Long Island, NY/NJ/          45,503          31,852
 CT/PA..................................
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,            41,101          28,770
 PA/NJ/DE/MD............................
Pittsburgh, PA..........................          45,659          31,962
St. Louis, MO/IL........................          34,834          24,384
San Diego, CA...........................          47,861          33,502
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA......          46,750          32,725
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA............          46,008          32,206
Washington-Baltimore, DC/MD/VA/WV \2\...          46,097          32,268
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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.

Appendix D

Table 4: 70 Percent of Updated 2016 Lower Living Standard Income Level 
(LLSIL), by Family Size

    To use the 70 percent LLSIL value, where it is stipulated for 
the 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 the 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. Individuals from these size families may 
consult the 2017 HHS poverty guidelines found on the Health and 
Human Services Web site at https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines 
to find the higher eligibility standard. Individuals from Alaska and 
Hawaii should consult the HHS guidelines for the generally higher 
poverty levels that apply in their 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 2017 adjusted LLSIL amount for that location. These 
figures apply to a family of four. Locate the corresponding number 
in the family of four in the column below. Move left or right across 
that row to the size that corresponds to the individual's family 
unit. That figure is the minimum figure that States must set for 
determining whether employment leads to self-sufficiency under WIOA 
programs.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Family of one      Family of two     Family of three     Family of four     Family of five     Family of six
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          12482              20455              28077              34653              40901              47828
          12550              20560              28221              34834              41110              48072
          12585              20626              28324              34954              41251              48239
          12754              20895              28678              35399              41777              48857
          12759              20914              28716              35441              41825              48915
          12880              21102              28974              35765              42205              49354
          12968              21245              29159              35995              42478              49676
          13085              21425              29416              36312              42861              50123
          13166              21573              29609              36555              43144              50459
          13293              21789              29914              36926              43577              50962
          13304              21806              29935              36945              43602              50989
          13517              22150              30410              37533              44298              51804
          13566              22237              30522              37679              44463              52008
          13638              22357              30684              37876              44700              52270
          13697              22456              30816              38045              44900              52513
          14407              23609              32411              40002              47205              55209
          14805              24255              33296              41101              48509              56723
          15064              24688              33896              41838              49378              57750
          15133              24800              34050              42033              49600              58014
          15256              25008              34330              42370              50006              58471
          15462              25339              34789              42947              50678              59275
          15473              25359              34805              42965              50707              59295
          16384              26853              36859              45503              53694              62805
          16446              26950              36993              45659              53888              63018
          16572              27160              37292              46026              54318              63518
          16573              27148              37272              46008              54295              63495
          16602              27207              37345              46097              54405              63627
          16839              27592              37870              46750              55171              64526
          17239              28240              38774              47861              56481              66057
          17321              28376              38960              48090              56752              66376
          17754              29093              39932              49293              58175              68026
          19321              31650              43456              53638              63299              74032
          19488              31925              43833              54109              63852              74670
          19665              32218              44229              54603              64434              75363

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          20802              34090              46794              57765              68167              79719
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    Signed at Washington, DC, this 14 of April, 2017.
Byron Zuidema,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-10496 Filed 5-22-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FT-P