TEGL 01-22 For WIGS (Accessible PDF)

CLASSIFICATION
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION
ADVISORY SYSTEM
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Washington, D.C. 20210

Workforce Information
CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL

DNPTTA/Workforce Information
DATE

July 1, 2022

ADVISORY:

TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 1-22

TO:

STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS
STATE LABOR COMMISSIONERS
STATE AND LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARD CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS
STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS
STATE LABOR MARKET INFORMATION, WORKFORCE
INFORMATION, OR RESEARCH DIRECTORS

FROM:

BRENT PARTON /s/
Acting Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:

Program Year 2022 Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants to States:
Program Guidance and Deliverables

1. Purpose. To provide program guidance for the development, management, and delivery of
workforce and labor market information (WLMI) funded through the Workforce and Labor
Market Information Grants to States (WIGS).
2. Action Requested. Per the grant agreement, during the course of the year, grantees must
provide the deliverables according to the requirements and timeframes outlined in
Attachment 1. Refer to Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 09-21 for grant
application submission requirements for Program Year (PY) 2022 WIGS funding.
3. Summary and Background.
a. Summary – This guidance, published annually, specifies grant requirements for WIGS,
which are funded by ETA.
b. Background – State workforce agencies use WIGS to develop and disseminate essential
state and local WLMI for job seekers, employers, educators, economic developers, and
others. This TEGL describes required, encouraged, and other allowable activities, and
explains the rationale for ETA policies and requirements. During times of economic
changes, the data and information produced by the WIGS is particularly important.
4. Required, Encouraged, and Other Allowable Activities. State workforce agencies use
WIGS to develop and disseminate essential state and local WLMI for a range of customer
groups: 1) job seekers; 2) businesses/employers; 3) workforce and labor market
intermediaries such as employment, school, and career counselors, and case managers at
RESCISSIONS

EXPIRATION DATE

None

Continuing

American Job Centers (AJCs), who help individuals find a job or make career decisions, or
engage businesses seeking skilled workers; 4) program and service planners at educational
institutions and community-based organizations; 5) policy makers, including state and local
workforce development boards (WDBs); 6) partners, such as economic development entities
and human resource professionals; and 7) other customers, including recipients of workforce
development grants, researchers, commercial data providers, and the media. Grantees have
considerable flexibility to meet customer needs but must consult their customers and prepare
several types of products.
Required products. Grantees must populate and maintain a database (see sub-section a.
below), produce two types of public products (see sub-sections b. and d. below), and ensure
staff are adequately trained (see sub-section c. below). If the grantee does not produce any of
the four required deliverables, it must negotiate an extension and a revised schedule with the
appropriate ETA regional office.
a. Workforce Information Database (WID). WID 2.8 was released in May 2019 and
should have been implemented by July 15, 2020. Accurate and reliable data are a
cornerstone of the nation’s workforce investment system. The WID includes the most
important workforce-related data elements and defines them consistently, ensuring
comparability across jurisdictions. The Analyst Resource Center (ARC), an ETA-funded
grantee which supports consistent LMI data collection, provides and maintains
information on the structure and content of the WID at www.widcenter.org/structure-2/,
including background for this state requirement at www.widcenter.org/why-a-standardstructure/.
States must use WIGS funds to populate, maintain, and update the WID. States must
also use WIGS funds to provide related staff training necessary to meet the WID
requirements. Grantees must implement and maintain the most current version of WID
and populate all ARC-designated core tables. The ARC website
(www.widcenter.org/document/all-core-tables/) describes all required data elements and
helps grantees obtain maximum benefit from the WID. ETA uses the WID as an input
to CareerOneStop (www.careeronestop.org), an ETA-funded website providing
information for job seekers, labor market intermediaries, employers, and workforce
professionals.
b. State and local industry and occupational employment projections. These
projections are one of the most frequently requested types of labor market information.
Projections are used to identify in-demand industries and occupations for career
guidance; to plan employment, education and training, and economic development
programs; as supporting documentation to apply for Federal grants; and for many other
purposes. Individual jobseekers and policy makers are particularly interested in
projections during times of economic changes. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) funds national employment projections, but WIGS fund the state and local (substate) projections produced by the states with assistance from ETA and BLS.

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ETA worked closely with the Projections Managing Partnership (PMP), a state
consortium, to make available a mid-term projections procedure to state projections
analysts through the Projections Suite software. The mid-term projections procedure has
been approved by the PMP board and has been incorporated in the software for
distribution to states. In PY 2022, states have the option of publishing either the two-year
projection (known as the short-term projection), the mid-term projection, or both sets of
projections.
The employment projections requirements are described in the table following subsection e. below and deadlines for these products are established by the PMP. ETA’s
requirements do not differ between industry and occupational projections but vary for
long-term vs. short-term (or mid-term) projections and statewide vs. sub-state
projections. ETA grantees who are unable to produce the required projections must
report this to their ETA regional office.
Grantees must use the methodology, software, and guidelines specified by the state-led
PMP to produce all projections. Additionally, grantees must use the Local Employment
and Wage Information System (LEWIS) to provide the staffing patterns for sub-state
projections. To meet these requirements, grantees may use WIGS funds to obtain
training provided by the PMP (see https://projectionscentral.org/), ARC (see
www.widcenter.org), LEWIS (www.lewissupport.com/), and other LMI-related sources.
Finally, state occupational projections must be posted on the PMP website
(https://projectionscentral.org/) as well as on the state LMI website to maximize public
awareness and availability for use.
c. Employee development and LMI training for service delivery. In accordance with
section 3(c)(4) of the Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49b(c)(4)), as amended by section
303(b)(2) of WIOA, states must provide employee development and LMI training to
ensure quality service delivery. In an effort to promote robust use of LMI, ETA
encourages state LMI offices to provide training to state workforce agency staff, local
AJCs, WBDs, vocational rehabilitation providers, providers to veterans returning to the
civilian workforce, providers assisting citizens re-entering the workforce after
incarceration, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training
(SNAP E&T) providers, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) service
providers. Many local boards, programs, and service providers are engaged in data
analysis to understand the local labor market for various subpopulations, e.g., by race,
ethnicity, gender, disability status, and veteran status. Training can include the analysis of
the labor market by specific populations, such as employment, earnings, and career
progression for different subpopulations. The training provided, and to whom, should be
identified in the state’s WIGS Annual Performance Report. The provision of LMI
training will help support a one-stop delivery system that provides high quality and
professional services to the job seeker and businesses.
Outreach and training are especially critical as states recover from the economic effects
of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). ETA encourages LMI directors and their staff to
actively seek opportunities to provide information and training to the local workforce
system, employers, jobseekers, AJCs, and those seeking career advice.
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d. A statewide annual economic analysis report. ETA regards state economic and labor
market analyses as essential to plan WIOA and other workforce programs. Therefore,
ETA requires statewide economic analysis reports, and encourages annual publication.
For years in which a comprehensive economic report is not issued, grantees must publish
other economic reports of value to state policymakers (including the governor and state
legislature), as well as state and local WDBs. Economic reports created by the state must
be posted to the state LMI website.
Grantees have broad discretion over the reports’ contents, but they should include
analyses of trends and challenges at both the state and sub-state levels. Examples of
topics may include: employment growth or decline (actual and projected);
unemployment and other labor market hardship indicators (such as low earnings);
identification of growing and/or in-demand occupations and/or industries; other analyses
of important industries and occupations; COVID-19 economic decline and recovery; and
skill shortages, mismatches, or deficiencies, within the limitations of the available data.
The analyses should address the jobless population as a whole, as well as the experiences,
needs, and challenges of the targeted populations identified in state planning
requirements.
ETA will not accept the following submissions for the economic analysis report or its
substitute: 1) data tables alone; 2) job listings; 3) maps alone; 4) reports done by the
grantee for BLS (e.g., news releases, employment situation reports, projections, etc.); 5)
reports solely funded by Federal sources other than WIGS; or 6) any publication that does
not contain any economic analysis related to that state.
e. Annual Performance Report. Grantees must submit a WIGS Annual Performance
Report to their ETA regional office that summarizes all grantee activities, including
the core deliverables and activities shown below, in the order indicated, by October 1
each year.
i. Workforce information database (WID);
ii. Industry and occupational employment projections;
iii. LMI training for service delivery; and
iv. Annual economic analysis and other reports.
Whether a core or optional activity, each summary must identify:
i. A description of the activity;
ii. How customer consultation is used in each activity;
iii. Which customer needs are met by each activity; and
iv. If the activity supports collaborations or leveraged funding.
Additionally, given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, ETA expects that
conditions in most states will change sufficiently to warrant a section in the Annual
Performance Report to describe how the LMI office contributed to the states effort to
help the state and local economy.

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Grantees are also asked to make any recommendations or suggestions to their regional
office for improving the use of WIGS funding.
Please note: The WIGS Annual Performance Report must be signed by the state
workforce agency head prior to submittal to the regional office. If this is not possible, a
written justification explaining why the state workforce agency head has not signed must
be provided to Federal Project Officer (FPO) for this grant.
Required Methods. Grantees have considerable flexibility in conducting their work but must
meet certain methodological standards in collaborating with partners; consulting with
customers; collecting data; disseminating statistics; maintaining data integrity,
confidentiality, and security; and posting their products on the Internet.
a. Partnerships. In order to best serve their customers and optimize the Federal
investment, grantees should establish and maintain partnerships that grantees consider
relevant and mutually beneficial. Such partnerships help to increase resources, improve
program outcomes, and help WLMI data influence planning and program decisions.
Examples of partnerships to develop may include schools (K-12, 2-year colleges,
universities, career and technical schools), state-wide and local WDB and economic
development boards, any eligible training provider, SNAP E&T agencies, TANF
agencies, veteran-serving organizations, and other government agencies in your states
and regions that use LMI or can use LMI in their planning and decision-making.
b. Customer consultation. One of the key tenets of WIOA is meeting the needs of
businesses and jobseekers. Further, WIOA requires states to consult with customers,
including employers, WDBs, core partner programs such as education agencies,
participants, students, and others about the relevance of the WLMI collected and
disseminated. WIGS grantees must consult with customers to ensure the workforce
system is providing relevant and integrated information to support decision-making by
state and local WDBs and other stakeholders. ETA does not prescribe how to perform
outreach, but suggests it be performed in collaboration with other workforce system
entities that are doing similar outreach, such as business engagement or industry outreach
staff at the state and local level. Grantees must document these consultations in their
WIGS Annual Performance Report.
c. Data collection and research methodology. All ETA-funded data collection,
population, and dissemination activities must conform to the appropriate BLS, PMP,
ARC, or generally accepted professional standards and methodologies. Information
used in reports must: 1) be based in part on needs identified through customer
consultations and product assessments; and 2) come from credible sources that meet
professional standards. Multiple sources must be used, except when the report is based
upon a single survey. Sources must be clearly referenced and/or footnoted. Any
additional methodologies employed, and any variants encountered in the research, must
be clearly described.

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d. Publication requirements. In order to maximize the availability of WLMI products,
grantees must post grant-funded products, reports, and workforce information on their
websites in a readily accessible manner (unless otherwise indicated) and meet standard
Federal accessibility requirements (www.section508.gov). To meet this criterion,
grantees may use WIGS funding to develop, maintain, improve, or host WLMI websites
and other electronic delivery systems. Grantees must also use the approved language in
Attachment 2 on products or sites that are funded by WIGS. This language is in
Attachment 2 for convenience but is a standard requirement included in ETA grant award
documents.
e. Information technology (IT) specifications. To maximize its usefulness, any IT system
or application developed with WIGS should adhere to industry-standard, open
architecture principles with documentation and software made available for use by other
organizations for Federal governmental purposes. To enhance the reporting of the
delivery of both virtual, in-person, and hard copy WLMI services to customers, states are
encouraged to work toward greater management information system (MIS) integration to
capture WLMI services provided.
Additionally, states are encouraged to maintain and share with ETA state LMI website
analytics, such as the number of visitors, page views, top LMI pages or websites visited,
or other analytics the state would like to share. This information should be reported in
the WIGS Annual Performance Report.
Required forms, files, and deadlines. Please refer to TEGL No. 09-21, “Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth Activities
Program Allotments for Program Year (PY) 2022; PY 2022 Allotments for the WagnerPeyser Act Employment Service (ES) Program; and PY 2022 Allotments of Workforce
Information Grants to States,” for application submission requirements for PY 2022 WIGS
grants.
a. Other standard forms and files. ETA requires grantees to complete ETA Form 9130
quarterly financial reports within 45 days of the end of each quarter. In addition, grantees
must maintain their internal grant files in electronic form and make these available upon
request to ETA.
b. Deadlines. By accepting WIGS funding, a state agrees to fulfill all work specified in this
guidance and adhere to the specified deadlines. ETA expects grantees to expend WIGS
funds using a “First in First Out” spending system. All funds received from an earlier
date should be expended before spending funds received from a later grant. Any
carryover must be expended before spending new funding. Grantees must expend the
funds within the three-year period ending June 30, 2025. During the performance period,
the grantee and the ETA regional office may jointly adjust planned expenditures within
the state’s allotment. All WIGS expenditures must support the required and allowable
activities, and conform to "reasonable," "necessary," and "allocable" costs specified in 2
CFR Part 200 (Uniform Guidance see: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl). WIGS cannot be used to supplant

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funding from other Federal or state sources. Please contact your regional FPO if you
have questions or need technical assistance.
Encouraged economic and labor market reports and products. ETA encourages grantees to
produce other reports and data in addition to those specified above. Grantees have wide
discretion in both the topics and presentation format. These reports should include accurate
data, actionable information, and resources that enable job seekers, employers, staff in AJCs,
state and local WDBs, policy makers, and the workforce investment system to make
informed decisions about the reemployment, work-based learning, training, and career
pathways strategies that lead to rapid reemployment and worker advancement along a
continuum of high-demand and higher wage jobs. Examples of such other products include:
online self-service tools and other occupational and career guidance resources for job seekers
including UI claimants; industry- or occupation-specific research; data visualizations, job
vacancy surveys; supply/demand analysis; reports based on analyses of on-line job orders
(job ads) data sources; and studies of topics of continuing interest such as labor or skill gaps,
mismatches, deficiencies, and especially products and services provided in support of helping
the state and local economy recover from the effects of COVID-19. Examples of these
reports and products are found on state websites and various US Department of Labor
websites.
Other allowable activities. ETA encourages states to provide training and technical
assistance to customers outside of the required LMI training for state and local workforce
development staff. All LMI training provided by WIGS funded staff should be reported in
the WIGS Annual Performance Report and should include the following information:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Type of LMI training provided
The customer group receiving the training
Date
Location
Estimated number of individuals receiving the training

ETA also encourages grantees to leverage WIGS funds by expanding partnerships among the
workforce investment system, and education, training, and economic development
communities.
5. Inquiries. For questions on grant requirements, contact the applicable ETA regional office.
For financial management questions, contact the applicable ETA regional office, Grants
Management Specialist Rahel Bizuayene at [email protected] or National Grant
Officer Serena Boyd at [email protected].
6. References.
• Section 3(c)(4) of the Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended (29 U.S.C. 49b(c)(4));
• 2 CFR Part 200 and 2 CFR Part 2900 Uniform Administrative Requirements Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards;
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d);
• TEGL No. 15-14, Implementation of the New Uniform Guidance Regulations, December

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•

•

19, 2014;
TEGL No. 09-21, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Adult, Dislocated
Worker and Youth Activities Program Allotments for Program Year (PY) 2022; PY 2022
Allotments for the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service (ES) Program; and PY 2022
Allotments of Workforce Information Grants to States, May 6, 2022; and
TEGL 20-19, Revised ETA-9130 Financial Report, Instructions, and Additional
Guidance, April 29, 2020.

7. Attachments.
I.
Consolidated Requirements for WIGS Grantees
II.
Language for Grant Product Attribution and Intellectual Property Rights

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