american tower corporation and subsidiaries notes to consolidated financial statements 2014 ( continued ) stock-based compensation 2014the company complies with the provisions of sfas no . 148 , 201caccounting for stock-based compensation 2014transition and disclosure 2014an amendment of sfas no . 123 , 201d which provides optional transition guidance for those companies electing to voluntarily adopt the accounting provisions of sfas no . 123 . the company continues to use accounting principles board opinion no . 25 ( apb no . 25 ) , 201caccounting for stock issued to employees , 201d to account for equity grants and awards to employees , officers and directors and has adopted the disclosure-only provisions of sfas no . 148 . in accordance with apb no . 25 , the company recognizes compensation expense based on the excess , if any , of the quoted stock price at the grant date of the award or other measurement date over the amount an employee must pay to acquire the stock . the company 2019s stock option plans are more fully described in note 13 . in december 2004 , the fasb issued sfas no . 123r , 201cshare-based payment 201d ( sfas no . 123r ) , described below . the following table illustrates the effect on net loss and net loss per share if the company had applied the fair value recognition provisions of sfas no . 123 ( as amended ) to stock-based compensation . the estimated fair value of each option is calculated using the black-scholes option-pricing model ( in thousands , except per share amounts ) : .

Table:
 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002
net loss as reported | $ -247587 ( 247587 ) | $ -325321 ( 325321 ) | $ -1163540 ( 1163540 )
add : stock-based employee compensation expense associated with modifications net of related tax effect included in net loss asreported | 2297 | 2077 | 
less : total stock-based employee compensation expense determined under fair value based method for all awards net of related taxeffect | -23906 ( 23906 ) | -31156 ( 31156 ) | -38126 ( 38126 )
pro-forma net loss | $ -269196 ( 269196 ) | $ -354400 ( 354400 ) | $ -1201666 ( 1201666 )
basic and diluted net loss per share 2014as reported | $ -1.10 ( 1.10 ) | $ -1.56 ( 1.56 ) | $ -5.95 ( 5.95 )
basic and diluted net loss per share pro-forma | $ -1.20 ( 1.20 ) | $ -1.70 ( 1.70 ) | $ -6.15 ( 6.15 )
during the year ended december 31 , 2004 and 2003 , the company modified certain option awards to accelerate vesting and recorded charges of $ 3.0 million and $ 2.3 million , respectively , and corresponding increases to additional paid in capital in the accompanying consolidated financial statements .
fair value of financial instruments 2014the carrying values of the company 2019s financial instruments , with the exception of long-term obligations , including current portion , reasonably approximate the related fair values as of december 31 , 2004 and 2003 .
as of december 31 , 2004 , the carrying amount and fair value of long-term obligations , including current portion , were $ 3.3 billion and $ 3.6 billion , respectively .
as of december 31 , 2003 , the carrying amount and fair value of long-term obligations , including current portion , were $ 3.4 billion and $ 3.6 billion , respectively .
fair values are based primarily on quoted market prices for those or similar instruments .
retirement plan 2014the company has a 401 ( k ) plan covering substantially all employees who meet certain age and employment requirements .
under the plan , the company matching contribution for periods prior to june 30 , 2004 was 35% ( 35 % ) up to a maximum 5% ( 5 % ) of a participant 2019s contributions .
effective july 1 , 2004 , the plan was amended to increase the company match to 50% ( 50 % ) up to a maximum 6% ( 6 % ) of a participant 2019s contributions .
the company contributed approximately $ 533000 , $ 825000 and $ 979000 to the plan for the years ended december 31 , 2004 , 2003 and 2002 , respectively .
recent accounting pronouncements 2014in december 2004 , the fasb issued sfas no .
123r , which is a revision of sfas no .
123 , 201caccounting for stock-based compensation , 201d and supersedes apb no .
25 , accounting for .

Question: what was the percentage increase in the employee contribution from 2002 to 2003
Answer: -15.7%
Calculation: subtract(825000, 979000), divide(#0, 979000)