[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24495-24501]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11461]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) 2018 Lower Living 
Standard Income Level (LLSIL)

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Title I of WIOA (Pub. L. 113-128) 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 whose 
total family income 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 2018 and references the current 2018 Health and Human 
Services ``Poverty Guidelines.''

DATES: This notice is applicable May 29, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 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 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 CONTACT 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 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 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

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workforce development boards (WDs) use the LLSIL for determining 
eligibility for youth and adults for certain services. ETA encourages 
governors and State/local boards to consult the WIOA operating 
guidance, and after its publication, 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 18, 
2018 (Volume 83, Number 12), pp. 2642-2644. The HHS 2018 Poverty 
guidelines may also be found on the internet at https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines. ETA plans to have the 2018 LLSIL available on its 
website 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 2017 updates to the LLSIL in the Federal Register 
of May 23, 2017, at Vol. 82, No.98 pp. 23595-23601. This notice again 
updates the LLSIL to reflect cost of living increases for 2017, by 
calculating the percentage change in the most recent 2017 Consumer 
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for an area to the 2017 
CPI-U, and then applying this calculation to each of the May 23, 2017 
LLSIL figures for the 2018 LLSIL.
    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.
    Data on 23 selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) are also 
available. These are based on annual CPI-U changes for a 12-month 
period ending in December 2017. 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 2017 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 website at http://www.doleta.gov/llsil. 
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 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

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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\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           2018 adjusted    70 percent
               Region \1\                      LLSIL           LLSIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast \2\:
    Metro...............................         $43,738         $30,617
    Non-Metro \3\.......................          43,133          30,193
Midwest:
    Metro...............................          38,320          26,824
    Non-Metro...........................          36,784          25,764
South:
    Metro...............................          37,323          26,126
    Non-Metro...........................          36,499          25,549
West:
    Metro...............................          43,252          30,277
    Non-Metro \4\.......................          42,968          30,078
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For ease of use, these figures are rounded to the next 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\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           2018 adjusted    70 percent
               Region \1\                      LLSIL           LLSIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska:
    Metro...............................         $49,485         $34,639
    Non-Metro \2\.......................          55,570          38,899
Hawaii, Guam:
    Metro...............................          55,194          38,636
    Non-Metro \2\.......................          59,325          41,527
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For ease of use, these figures are rounded.
\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)    2018 adjusted    70 percent
                   \1\                         LLSIL           LLSIL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anchorage, AK \2\.......................         $49,539         $34,677
Atlanta, GA.............................          36,107          25,275
Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA/NH/ME/CT.....          47,176          33,023
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL/IN/WI..........          38,768          27,138
Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH/KY/IN...........          37,500          26,250
Cleveland-Akron, OH.....................          38,293          26,805
Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX....................          35,520          24,864
Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO..............          41,362          28,954
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI \2\.........          36,516          25,561
Honolulu, HI............................          55,968          39,178
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX..........          36,107          25,275
Kansas City, MO/KS......................          36,114          25,280

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Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA           44,149          30,904
 \2\....................................
Milwaukee-Racine, WI....................          37,664          26,365
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN/WI.............          38,359          26,851
New York-Northern NJ-Long Island, NY/NJ/          46,413          32,489
 CT/PA \2\..............................
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,            41,635          29,144
 PA/NJ/DE/MD............................
Pittsburgh, PA..........................          46,664          32,665
St. Louis, MO/IL........................          35,426          24,798
San Diego, CA...........................          49,297          34,508
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA......          48,246          33,772
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA............          47,434          33,204
Washington-Baltimore, DC/MD/VA/WV \2\...          46,697          32,688
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For ease of use, these figures are rounded to the next dollar.
\2\ Calculated as a single metropolitan statistical area.

Appendix D

Table 4: 70 Percent of Updated 2018 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 website 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 2018 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 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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         12,763             20,910             28,701             35,426             41,809             48,889
         12,794             20,966             28,779             35,520             41,923             49,024
         13,009             21,313             29,252             36,107             42,612             49,834
         13,001             21,307             29,258             36,107             42,612             49,831
         13,001             21,312             29,261             36,114             42,620             49,845
         13,150             21,543             29,567             36,499             43,072             50,372
         13,150             21,545             29,583             36,516             43,091             50,391
         13,255             21,703             29,798             36,784             43,418             50,774
         13,442             22,026             30,231             37,323             44,050             51,518
         13,503             22,133             30,384             37,500             44,256             51,754
         13,559             22,225             30,512             37,664             44,449             51,981
         13,789             22,603             31,021             38,293             45,192             52,845
         13,797             22,615             31,040             38,320             45,219             52,893
         13,815             22,637             31,079             38,359             45,273             52,944
         13,957             22,882             31,401             38,768             45,753             53,511
         14,897             24,412             33,513             41,362             48,810             57,086
         14,997             24,571             33,729             41,635             49,139             57,461
         15,471             25,355             34,812             42,968             50,712             59,309
         15,531             25,458             34,948             43,133             50,906             59,523
         15,572             25,519             35,037             43,252             51,039             59,696
         15,752             25,816             35,431             43,738             51,620             60,363
         15,895             26,048             35,763             44,149             52,097             60,935
         16,711             27,391             37,596             46,413             54,768             64,061
         16,808             27,543             37,807             46,664             55,073             64,404
         16,818             27,561             37,831             46,697             55,112             64,454
         16,987             27,839             38,224             47,176             55,676             65,106
         17,087             27,989             38,428             47,434             55,978             65,463
         17,378             28,475             39,082             48,246             56,936             66,591
         17,756             29,087             39,937             49,297             58,176             68,039
         17,823             29,199             40,090             49,485             58,397             68,301
         17,843             29,239             40,132             49,539             58,466             68,366
         19,881             32,568             44,716             55,194             65,134             76,179
         20,014             32,787             45,016             55,570             65,576             76,686
         20,156             33,024             45,334             55,968             66,045             77,247
         21,364             35,011             48,058             59,325             70,007             81,872
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Rosemary Lahasky,
Deputy Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-11461 Filed 5-25-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FT-P