what is the percentage decrease for average common shares outstanding from 2008-2009?
the company has a restricted stock plan for non-employee directors which reserves for issuance of 300000 shares of the company 2019s common stock . no restricted shares were issued in 2009 . the company has a directors 2019 deferral plan , which provides a means to defer director compensation , from time to time , on a deferred stock or cash basis . as of september 30 , 2009 , 86643 shares were held in trust , of which 4356 shares represented directors 2019 compensation in 2009 , in accordance with the provisions of the plan . under this plan , which is unfunded , directors have an unsecured contractual commitment from the company . the company also has a deferred compensation plan that allows certain highly-compensated employees , including executive officers , to defer salary , annual incentive awards and certain equity-based compensation . as of september 30 , 2009 , 557235 shares were issuable under this plan . note 16 2014 earnings per share the weighted average common shares used in the computations of basic and diluted earnings per share ( shares in thousands ) for the years ended september 30 were as follows: .

|  | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Average common shares outstanding | 240,479 | 244,323 | 244,929 |
| Dilutive share equivalents from share-based plans | 6,319 | 8,358 | 9,881 |
| Average common and common equivalent sharesoutstanding — assuming dilution | 246,798 | 252,681 | 254,810 |

average common and common equivalent shares outstanding 2014 assuming dilution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246798 252681 254810 note 17 2014 segment data the company 2019s organizational structure is based upon its three principal business segments : bd medical ( 201cmedical 201d ) , bd diagnostics ( 201cdiagnostics 201d ) and bd biosciences ( 201cbiosciences 201d ) . the principal product lines in the medical segment include needles , syringes and intravenous catheters for medication delivery ; safety-engineered and auto-disable devices ; prefilled iv flush syringes ; syringes and pen needles for the self-injection of insulin and other drugs used in the treatment of diabetes ; prefillable drug delivery devices provided to pharmaceutical companies and sold to end-users as drug/device combinations ; surgical blades/scalpels and regional anesthesia needles and trays ; critical care monitoring devices ; ophthalmic surgical instruments ; and sharps disposal containers . the principal products and services in the diagnostics segment include integrated systems for specimen collection ; an extensive line of safety-engineered specimen blood collection products and systems ; plated media ; automated blood culturing systems ; molecular testing systems for sexually transmitted diseases and healthcare-associated infections ; microorganism identification and drug susceptibility systems ; liquid-based cytology systems for cervical cancer screening ; and rapid diagnostic assays . the principal product lines in the biosciences segment include fluorescence activated cell sorters and analyzers ; cell imaging systems ; monoclonal antibodies and kits for performing cell analysis ; reagent systems for life sciences research ; tools to aid in drug discovery and growth of tissue and cells ; cell culture media supplements for biopharmaceutical manufacturing ; and diagnostic assays . the company evaluates performance of its business segments based upon operating income . segment operating income represents revenues reduced by product costs and operating expenses . the company hedges against certain forecasted sales of u.s.-produced products sold outside the united states . gains and losses associated with these foreign currency translation hedges are reported in segment revenues based upon their proportionate share of these international sales of u.s.-produced products . becton , dickinson and company notes to consolidated financial statements 2014 ( continued ) .

common_shares_outstanding_change = 244323 - 240479
percent_change = common_shares_outstanding_change / 244323
answer = percent_change * 100