Via The Big Picture comes a fascinating graph at Matt Trivisonno's place, which is a short history of federal withholding tax revenue growth.  Immediately apparent is that the 1st quarter of 2008 saw tax withholding collapse to less than zero (-0.09%).  In other words, tax withholding actually fell in the first quarter this year and this was the first time since 4Q of 2003.  And this means, as Trivisonno states, that "any jobs that were added this past year are gone." Gone.




Also notable is the fact that, at no point during Bush's two terms has withholding growth approach that seen prior to 2000. Furthermore, the latest ADP employment report confirms a "sharp deceleration" in job growth.

Nonfarm private employment increased 8,000 from February to March 2008 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ADP National Employment ReportTM. The estimated change in employment from January to February was revised up 5,000 to negative 18,000. Though positive, the slight increase of 8,000 in March signals a continuing sharp deceleration of employment growth from previous levels.

Unlike the weakness of employment reported in February, which was widespread across businesses of all sizes and apparent in all major sectors of the economy, the weakness of employment in March was concentrated among larger businesses in the goods-producing sector.

Rest assured, however, the "fundamentals of the economy are strong."