2018-11461. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) 2018 Lower Living Standard Income Level (LLSIL)

AGENCY:

Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.

ACTION:

Notice.

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: [phone]; Fax: [phone] (these are not toll-free numbers); Email address: [e-mail]. 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: [phone]; Fax: [phone] (these are not toll-free numbers); Email: [e-mail]. 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 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 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

Region 1	2018 adjusted LLSIL	70 percent 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

Region 1	2018 adjusted LLSIL	70 percent 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) 1	2018 adjusted LLSIL	70 percent 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
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA 2	44,149	30,904
Milwaukee-Racine, WI	37,664	26,365
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN/WI	38,359	26,851
New York-Northern NJ-Long Island, NY/NJ/CT/PA 2	46,413	32,489
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA/NJ/DE/MD	41,635	29,144
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.

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

Rosemary Lahasky,

Deputy Assistant Secretary.