[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 67 (Friday, April 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18555-18557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07294]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) 2021 Lower Living 
Standard Income Level (LLSIL)

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 (inter alia) one 
whose total family annual 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 2021 and references the current 2021 
Health and Human Services ``Poverty Guidelines.''

DATES: This notice is effective April 9, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    General Information: 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

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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).
    Federal Youth Employment Program Information: Sara Hastings, 
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-4464, Washington, DC 20210; Telephone: 
202-693-3599; 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)(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 and local workforce development boards 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 and ETA guidance 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, 86 FR 7732, Feb. 1, 2021. The HHS 2021 Poverty 
guidelines may also be found on the internet at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-02-01/pdf/2021-01969.pdf. ETA will 
have the 2021 LLSIL and the HHS Poverty guidelines available on its 
website at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/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.
    This notice updates the LLSIL to reflect cost of living increases 
for 2020, by calculating the percentage change in the most recent 2020 
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for an area to the 
2020 CPI-U, and then applying this calculation to each of the 2020 
LLSIL figures (published in the Federal Register, 85 FR 24035, April 
30, 2020, for the 2021 LLSIL. Two of the LLSIL areas have a negative 
CPI due to the impact of the Corona virus.
    Microsoft Excel files are used in place of the LLSIL tables that 
were published in the Federal Register notice in previous years. The 
LLSIL tables will be available on the ETA LLSIL website at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/llsil.
    The website contains updated figures for a four-person family in 
Table 1, listed by region for both metropolitan and non-metropolitan 
areas. Incomes in all of the 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, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

B. Midwest

    Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, 
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and 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, 
and West Virginia.

D. West

    Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 
Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
    Additionally, the LLSIL Excel file provides separate figures for 
Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam.
    Data for 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 2020. The updated LLSIL figures for these 
MSAs and 70 percent of LLSIL are also available in the LLISL Excel 
file.
    The LLSIL Excel file also lists each of the various figures at 70 
percent of the updated 2021 LLSIL for family sizes of one to six 
persons. Please note, 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.
    The LLSIL Excel file also 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) of WIOA.

II. Use of These Data

    Governors should designate the appropriate LLSILs for use within 
the State using the LLSIL Excel files on the website. 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. An area can be part of multiple LLSIL 
geographies. For example, an area in the State of New Jersey may have 
four or more LLSIL figures. All cities, towns, and counties that are 
part of a metro area in New Jersey are a part of the Northeast 
metropolitan; some of these areas can also be a portion of the New York 
City MSA. New Jersey also has areas that are part of the Philadelphia 
MSA, a less populated area in New Jersey may be a part of the Northeast 
non-metropolitan.

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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 were terminated by BLS in 1982. 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.

Suzan G. LeVine,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, 
Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-07294 Filed 4-8-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P