insurance arrangement . as a result of the adoption of this new guidance , the company recorded a liability representing the actuarial present value of the future death benefits as of the employees 2019 expected retirement date of $ 45 million with the offset reflected as a cumulative-effect adjustment to january 1 , 2008 retained earnings and accumulated other comprehensive income ( loss ) in the amounts of $ 4 million and $ 41 million , respectively , in the company 2019s consolidated statement of stockholders 2019 equity . it is currently expected that minimal , if any , further cash payments will be required to fund these policies . the net periodic cost for these split-dollar life insurance arrangements was $ 6 million in both the years ended december 31 , 2009 and 2008 . the company has recorded a liability representing the actuarial present value of the future death benefits as of the employees 2019 expected retirement date of $ 48 million and $ 47 million as of december 31 , 2009 and december 31 , 2008 , respectively . defined contribution plan the company and certain subsidiaries have various defined contribution plans , in which all eligible employees participate . in the u.s. , the 401 ( k ) plan is a contributory plan . matching contributions are based upon the amount of the employees 2019 contributions . effective january 1 , 2005 , newly hired employees have a higher maximum matching contribution at 4% ( 4 % ) on the first 5% ( 5 % ) of employee contributions , compared to 3% ( 3 % ) on the first 6% ( 6 % ) of employee contributions for employees hired prior to january 2005 . effective january 1 , 2009 , the company temporarily suspended all matching contributions to the motorola 401 ( k ) plan . the company 2019s expenses , primarily relating to the employer match , for all defined contribution plans , for the years ended december 31 , 2009 , 2008 and 2007 were $ 8 million , $ 95 million and $ 116 million , respectively . 8 . share-based compensation plans and other incentive plans stock options , stock appreciation rights and employee stock purchase plan the company grants options to acquire shares of common stock to certain employees , and existing option holders in connection with the merging of option plans following an acquisition . each option granted and stock appreciation right has an exercise price of no less than 100% ( 100 % ) of the fair market value of the common stock on the date of the grant . the awards have a contractual life of five to ten years and vest over two to four years . stock options and stock appreciation rights assumed or replaced with comparable stock options or stock appreciation rights in conjunction with a change in control only become exercisable if the holder is also involuntarily terminated ( for a reason other than cause ) or quits for good reason within 24 months of a change in control . the employee stock purchase plan allows eligible participants to purchase shares of the company 2019s common stock through payroll deductions of up to 10% ( 10 % ) of eligible compensation on an after-tax basis . plan participants cannot purchase more than $ 25000 of stock in any calendar year . the price an employee pays per share is 85% ( 85 % ) of the lower of the fair market value of the company 2019s stock on the close of the first trading day or last trading day of the purchase period . the plan has two purchase periods , the first one from october 1 through march 31 and the second one from april 1 through september 30 . for the years ended december 31 , 2009 , 2008 and 2007 , employees purchased 29.4 million , 18.9 million and 10.2 million shares , respectively , at purchase prices of $ 3.60 and $ 3.68 , $ 7.91 and $ 6.07 , and $ 14.93 and $ 15.02 , respectively . the company calculates the value of each employee stock option , estimated on the date of grant , using the black-scholes option pricing model . the weighted-average estimated fair value of employee stock options granted during 2009 , 2008 and 2007 was $ 2.78 , $ 3.47 and $ 5.95 , respectively , using the following weighted-average assumptions : 2009 2008 2007 .

2009: expected volatility: -57.1
risk-free interest rate: -1.9
dividend yield: 0
expected life ( years ): 3.9
2008: expected volatility: -56.4
risk-free interest rate: -2.4
dividend yield: -2.7
expected life ( years ): 5.5
2007: expected volatility: -28.3
risk-free interest rate: -4.5
dividend yield: -1.1
expected life ( years ): 6.5

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Questions:
what was the difference in the number of shares purchased by employees between 2008 and 2009?
what was the number of shares purchased by employees in 2008?
what was the percent change?

Answers:
10.5
18.9
56%