2.10.6.3 Local Labor Market Conditions Criteria

A W-2 agency may provide a 24-month placement time limit extension or a 48-month state lifetime limit extension on a case-by-case basis if the agency determines that a participant’s efforts to find unsubsidized employment have been unsuccessful due to the local labor market conditions.

Local Labor Market Time Limit Extension Approvals

In order to approve a time limit extension based on local labor market conditions, the agency must provide documentation or evidence supporting at least one of the following circumstances:

Limited employment outcomes for similar participants:

Specific examples show that other W-2 participants with comparable skills, or who are conducting job searches in similar geographic or occupational areas, are also unable to secure unsubsidized jobs.

Local job market decline in the participant’s field:

Published labor market data, or specific examples such as business closures or workforce reductions, demonstrate a local economic downturn or ongoing lack of available jobs in the labor market sectors that match the participant’s skills.

Lack of accessible job opportunities within a reasonable travel distance:

Published labor market data or specific examples, indicate a continued unavailability of jobs within reasonable participant travel time—defined as no more than 60 minutes travel time one-way, using available transportation, from the participant’s home to the employer, including travel time related to any necessary child care.

Documentation may include:

Case histories of other comparable participants (with any personally identifiable information removed);

Press coverage regarding the local job market or local business conditions;

Agency correspondence with historical or potential placement sites;

Current labor market data obtained from public or private sources; or

Products of current locally relevant labor market studies or research.

If the agency approves an extension based on local labor market conditions, FEP Financial and Employment Planner s should conduct assessments, including Career Assessment A broad spectrum of assessment tools that W-2 agencies, applicants, and participants use to obtain greater awareness about how an individual’s work styles, skills, and interests can be used to define a career path, assign meaningful activities, highlight strengths, identify training needs, and match the individual to employment opportunities s, with the participant and create an EP Employability Plan with assigned activities that focus on training to build skills valuable in the current local labor market.