2011 substantial unemployment area designations

Accessible letter PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2010/TEGL08-10acc.pdf

                                                            CLASSIFICATION
      EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION                ASU/WIA
                  ADVISORY SYSTEM                           CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
             U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                       OPDR
                Washington, D.C. 20210
                                                            DATE
                                                            August 31, 2010


ADVISORY: TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 8-10


TO:            STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
               STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS
               ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER SYSTEM LEADS

FROM:          JANE OATES /s/
               Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:       Area of Substantial Unemployment Designation under the Workforce Investment
               Act (WIA) for Program Year (PY) 2011

1. Purpose. To request Area of Substantial Unemployment (ASU) designations in each
state as defined in the WIA in order to allot funds under the Act for the period beginning July
1, 2011.

2. References. Sections 127(b)(2)(B) and 132(b)(1)(B) (v)(III) of the WIA define ASUs
and require that they be designated once each fiscal year. These designations will be used by
the Department of Labor for the allotment of WIA title I, Subtitle B, Chapters 4 (Youth) and
5 (Adult) funds to states for PY 2011. Section 182 of WIA requires all state allotments under
title I to be based on the latest available data and estimates satisfactory to the U.S. Secretary
of Labor.

3. Guidelines. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) establishes an annual
"Open Season" for potential ASU designations. Unemployment estimates for these areas are
used in annual fund allotments under WIA. In coordination with ETA, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) provides data, forms, and instructions for the states to use in developing and
submitting unemployment estimates. BLS also validates the state data submittals.

      a.   Definition. An ASU is a contiguous area with a current population of at least 10,000
           and an average unemployment rate of at least 6.5 percent for the 12-month reference
           period.




 RESCISSIONS                                                EXPIRATION DATE
 None                                                       Continuing
     b.   Use of 2000 Census Special Runs for PY 2011 Census Sharing. An error in the
          processing of the “2000 Decennial Census,” which affected unemployment and labor
          force data for census tracts including group quarters (e.g., college dormitories), also
          adversely affected the quality of the data. As a result, BLS will not certify state ASU
          calculations that use these data starting in PY 2006.

          To address this issue, beginning with PY 2007, ETA has obtained 2000 Census
          special data runs that provide employment and unemployment data using only
          household responses. These data replace the 1990 Census data that were used for
          census sharing for ASU determinations prior to PY 2007. The 1990 Census data are
          not to be used for census sharing for PY 2011. Instead, the 2000 Census data
          transmitted to the states in October 2006 are to be used.

     c.   Reference Period. The 12-month reference period for ASU designation shall be July
          2009 through June 2010.

4. Procedures. The following are procedures for submitting ASU designations:

     a.   If a state has an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent or higher for the reference period,
          the entire state will be designated as an ASU, for purposes of the state allotments. In
          this case, no data or forms will need to be transmitted.

     b.   If a state does not qualify in total as an ASU, the state should examine all
          jurisdictions within the state and designate contiguous combinations of counties,
          cities, towns, townships, other minor civil divisions, and/or census tracts as ASUs.
          ASUs designated under this section should be described using the largest appropriate
          defining units. If Local Area Unemployment Statistics for the area designated as an
          ASU are already routinely collected by the BLS, the state should report the statistics,
          but no data needs to be submitted.

     c.   For an ASU where data are not routinely collected by BLS, the state should prepare
          designation and data collection forms and transmit them according to BLS
          instructions. The forms should include data for the 12-month period ending June
          2010. A copy of each form should be sent to the National Offices of BLS and ETA.
          (See Section 5.)

     d.   The state should describe the geographic components of each ASU in sufficient detail
          for a knowledgeable reviewer to verify that they are contiguous, do not overlap, and
          have a total population of at least 10,000 persons. States should either include maps
          with the submission or keep the maps available in case questions arise.

     e.   BLS has issued specific procedures and ASU designation forms to states.



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5. Action Requested. States should ensure that all forms are received in the ETA and BLS
National Offices by October 8, 2010. The copy for ETA should be sent to: U.S. Department of
Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-
5641, Washington, D.C. 20210. Attention: Mr. Daniel Ryan.

The copy for BLS should be sent to: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of Local Area
Unemployment Statistics, Mail Code 140, Room 4675, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E.,
Washington, D.C. 20212-0001, Attention: Ms. Lisa Williamson.

6. Inquiries. Direct questions to Mr. Daniel Ryan, Office of Policy Development and
Research, (202) 693-3649, or to the appropriate regional office.




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