E8-9076. Workforce Investment Act; Lower Living Standard Income Level

AGENCY:

Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION:

Notice of Determination of Lower Living Standard Income Level.

SUMMARY:

Under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-220), the Secretary of Labor annually determines the Lower Living Standard Income level (LLSIL) for uses described in the law. WIA defines the term “Low Income Individual” as one who qualifies under various criteria, including an individual who received 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 2008 and references the current 2008 Health and Human Services “Poverty Guidelines.”

DATES:

Effective Date: This notice is effective on the date of publication in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES:

Send written comments to: Mr. Evan Rosenberg, Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Room N-4464, Washington, DC 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Please contact Mr. Evan Rosenberg, telephone [phone]; fax [phone] (these are not toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

It is the purpose of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 “to provide workforce investment activities, through statewide and local workforce investment systems, that increase the employment, retention, and earnings of participants, and increase occupational skill attainment by participants, and as a result, improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency, and enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the Nation.”

The LLSIL is used for several purposes under WIA. Specifically, WIA section 101(25) 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 investment boards (WIBs) use the LLSIL for determining eligibility for youth, eligibility for employed adult workers for certain services and for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). We encourage the Governors and state/local WIBs to consult WIA regulations and the preamble to the WIA Final Rule (published at 65 FR 49294 August 11, 2000) for more specific guidance in applying the LLSIL to program requirements. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the annual 2008 update of the poverty-level guidelines in the Federal Register at 72 FR 3147-3148 on Jan. 23, 2008. The HHS 2008 Poverty guidelines may also be found on the Internet at: http://aspe.hhs.gov/​poverty/​08fedreg.pdf. ETA plans to have the 2008 LLSIL available on its Web site at [http://www.doleta.gov/​llsil/​2008/​].

WIA section 101(24) defines the 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 the fall of 1981. The four-person urban family budget estimates, previously published by the 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 through which ETA develops the LLSIL tables, as provided in the Appendices.

ETA published the 2007 updates to the LLSIL in the Federal Register of June 4, 2007, at 72 FR 30858. This notice again updates the LLSIL to reflect cost of living increases for 2007, by applying the percentage change in the December 2007 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), compared with the December 2006 CPI-U to each of the June 4, 2007, LLSIL figures. Those updated figures for a family-of-four are listed in Appendix A, Table 1, by region for both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Figures in all of the accompanying tables, in the Appendices, are rounded up to the nearest dollar. Since low income individuals, “disadvantaged adult” and “disadvantaged youth” may be determined by family income at 70 percent of the LLSIL, pursuant to WIA Sections 101(25), 127(b)(2)(C), and 132(b)(1)(B)(v)(IV), respectively, those figures are listed as well.

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

Northeast

Connecticut.

Maine.

Massachusetts.

New Hampshire.

New Jersey.

New York.

Pennsylvania.

Rhode Island.

Vermont.

Virgin Islands.

Midwest

Illinois.

Indiana.

Iowa.

Kansas.

Michigan.

Minnesota.

Missouri.

Nebraska.

North Dakota.

Ohio.

South Dakota.

Wisconsin.

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.

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 2007 figures were updated from the June 4, 2007, “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 MSAs are also available. These are based on semiannual CPI-U changes for a 12-month period ending in December 2007. The updated LLSIL figures for these MSAs and 70 percent of the LLSIL are reported in Appendix C, Table 3.

Appendix D, Table 4 lists each of the various figures at 70 percent of the updated 2008 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 determine the LLSIL for families of one to 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 LLSIL figure, the figure is indicated in parentheses. A modified Excel version of Appendix D, Table 4, with the area names, will be available on the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration LLSIL Webpage at (http://www.doleta.gov/​llsil/​2008/​). 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 20 CFR 663.230 of the WIA regulations and WIA Section 134(d)(3)(A)(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, may be used with any LLSIL designated. 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 figure, the Governor may determine which is to be used.

Under 20 CFR 661.110, 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 the WIA and the WIA regulations.

Disclaimer on Statistical Uses

It should be noted, the publication of these figures is only for the purpose of meeting the requirements specified by WIA 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 the 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 WIA as defined in the law and regulations.

Lower Living Standard Income Level for 2008

Under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105—220), the Secretary of Labor annually determines the Lower Living Standard Income Level (LLSIL). This Notice announces the LLSIL Tables for 2008. WIA requires the Department of Labor to update and publish the LLSIL tables annually. The LLSIL tables are used for several purposes under WIA, including determining eligibility for youth and for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 18th of April, 2008.

Brent R. Orrell,

Acting Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.

Attachments

Appendix A

Table 1.—Lower Living Standard Income Level (for a Family of Four Persons) by Region ¹

Region 2	2008 Adjusted LLSIL	70 Percent LLSIL
Northeast:
Metro	$37,441	$26,208
Non-Metro 3	36,050	25,235
Midwest:
Metro	33,298	23,309
Non-Metro	31,881	22,317
South:
Metro	32,176	22,523
Non-Metro	30,740	21,518
West:
Metro	36,664	25,665
Non-Metro 4	35,409	24,786
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-Us for city size classes A and B/C. Non-metropolitan area measures were calculated from the CPI-Us 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 unpublished data.

Appendix B

Table 2.—Lower Living Standard Income Level (for a Family of Four Persons)—Alaska, Hawaii and Guam ¹

Region	2008 Adjusted LLSIL	70 Percent LLSIL
Alaska:
Metro	$44,250	$30,975
Non-Metro 2	44,428	31,099
Hawaii, Guam:
Metro	47,622	33,335
Non-Metro 2	47,430	33,201
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-Us for city size class D in the Western Region.

Appendix C

Table 3.—Lower Living Standard Income Level (for a Family of Four Persons) 23 MSAs ¹

Metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs)	2008 Adjusted LLSIL	70 Percent LLSIL
Anchorage, AK	$44,250	$30,975
Atlanta, GA	31,719	22,203
Boston—Brockton—Nashua, MA/NH/ME/CT	40,864	28,605
Chicago—Gary—Kenosha, IL/IN/WI	35,158	24,611
Cincinnati—Hamilton, OH/KY/IN	33,026	23,118
Cleveland—Akron, OH	34,473	24,131
Dallas—Ft. Worth, TX	30,779	21,545
Denver—Boulder—Greeley, CO	34,312	24,018
Detroit—Ann Arbor—Flint, MI	32,312	22,618
Honolulu, HI	47,622	33,335
Houston—Galveston—Brazoria, TX	29,819	20,873
Kansas City, MO/KS	31,656	22,159
Los Angeles—Riverside—Orange County, CA	38,783	27,148
Milwaukee—Racine, WI	32,338	22,637
Minneapolis—St. Paul, MN/WI	32,544	22,781
New York—Northern NJ—Long Island, NY/NJ/CT/PA	39,572	27,700
Philadelphia—Wilmington—Atlantic City, PA/NJ/DE/MD	36,463	25,524
Pittsburgh, PA	39,203	27,442
St. Louis, MO/IL	31,291	21,904
San Diego, CA	41,459	29,021
San Francisco—Oakland—San Jose, CA	38,904	27,233
Seattle—Tacoma—Bremerton, WA	39,549	27,684
Washington—Baltimore, DC/MD/VA/WV 2	40,013	28,009
1 For ease of use, these figures are rounded to the next highest dollar.
2 Baltimore and Washington are now calculated as a single metropolitan statistical area.

Appendix D

Table 4.—Seventy Percent of Updated 2008 Lower Living Standard Income Level (LLSIL), by Family Size

To use the 70 percent LLSIL value, where it is stipulated for WIA programs, begin by locating the region or metropolitan area where they reside. 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 WIA.

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 2008 HHS poverty guidelines found in the Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 15, January 24, 2008, pp. 3147-3148 (on the Internet at http://aspe.hhs.gov/​poverty/​07fedreg.htm) 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.

Appendix E

Table 5.—Updated 2008 LLSIL (100%), 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 2008 Adjusted LLSIL amount for that location. These figures apply to a family of four. Locate the correspon55ding 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 States must set for determining whether employment leads to self-sufficiency under WIA programs.