Comptroller Bill Thompson just released a quarterly staff report with some good economic and fiscal data for New York City.

Personal income tax withheld were down 7.2 percent in the third quarter (which ended in September) relative to the same quarter a year earlier. We saw such declines starting in the fourth quarter of last year, however, that we’ll likely see a bounce soon in one of these reports — but it will be a slow climb back to boom-era levels.

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Estimated tax payments — on things like capital gains and other non-wage income — were down 28 percent in the same period.

Sales tax collections were down 12 percent in the third quarter. The sales tax went up half a percent in August.

New York City Transit ridership was down 4.5 percent in the third quarter, with weekday ridership — “indicative of worker commuting” — down an even bigger 5.1 percent. People also seem more sensitive to fare hikes than the MTA thought; “a far increase implemented on June 28 may have exacerbated the declines.”

Commuter-rail ridership was down even more — 7.2 percent on the Long Island Rail Road and 6.3 percent on Metro North.

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