Winship also says it's best to consider which airlines fly out of your hometown airport and your usual travel patterns when choosing a program.

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But travelers who have been using cheap flights as a status strategy, may get bumped down -- or out -- of the game, Winship said.

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It's a win for business travelers who easily qualify for the programs through company-paid flights, Winship said, because fewer elite members means better odds for upgrades.

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Recent research by Scott Winship at the Brookings Institution shows that, even when the unemployment rate was low, the U.S. job market has been slack for a decade.

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Dr Ingrid Winship, another member of the research team, said a test could inform women with a family history - who make up between 10% and 30% of cases - if they were at risk.

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Data compiled by Winship show that, for the past 60 years, the ratio of unemployed persons to job openings typically dipped below 1:1 during economic expansions, rarely exceeded 2:1 even during recessions, and never reached 3:1.

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"While this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve for the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice, our strike has been a success, " Writers Guild West president Patric Verrone and WGA East president Michael Winship said in an e-mail sent to union members early Saturday.

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