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', '240479', '244323', '244929'], ['dilutive share equivalents from share-based plans', '6319', '8358', '9881'], ['average common and common equivalent sharesoutstanding 2014 assuming dilution', '246798', '252681', '254810']]
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 ) .

Question: what is the percentage decrease for average common shares outstanding from 2008-2009?
Answer: 1.57%