Additional research has found that the top skills demanded by U.S. Fortune 500 companies by the year 2000 had shifted from traditional reading, writing and arithmetic to teamwork, problem solving, and interpersonal skills.[23] A 2006 Conference Board survey of some 400 employers revealed that the most important skills for new workforce entrants included oral and written communications and critical thinking/problem solving, ahead of basic knowledge and skills, such as the reading comprehension and mathematics. While the ‘three Rs’ were still considered foundational to new workforce entrants’ abilities, employers emphasized that applied skills like collaboration/teamwork and critical thinking were ‘very important’ to success at work."[24]