"They tell me it was a shallow recession," he said.

Before Sept. 11, the city and the nation were sliding into a shallow recession.

And it's the same for anyone who questions his economic record: "They tell me it was a shallow recession," he said Monday.

It was a shallow recession because of the tax relief.

"They" may tell him it was a shallow recession, but the long-term unemployed won't agree.

"Now we face what probably will be a long but rather shallow recession."

Germany entered a shallow recession for the second time in as many years, its government said today.

"We have already seen a modest recovery from a shallow recession," he says.

"Although it may have looked like a shallow recession, for some work force groups it's not so shallow."

Even mighty Germany, with most of its neighbors in a downturn, is also expected to slip into a shallow recession this year.