PERM 2009-Reasons for Delay

PERM 2009 Delay
This is the best information I can find out there on web about the possible reasons for delay in PERM processing.
Report by http://www.murthy.com/news/n_prmdel.html
"The reason for these delays is not entirely clear. It is possible, however, that the DOL is carefully scrutinizing more cases, and certain aspects of the system, in light of the weak economy. The DOL greatly increased the percentage of PERM audit requests, including, at one point, a highly-publicized and ill-fated effort to audit all the cases filed by a particular, large immigration law firm. (That effort ceased following legal challenge to the basis of the audit.) There are other political, economic, and bureaucratic factors that come into play in the operation of any government program. This is all the more so for programs involving foreign nationals. The result is long processing times, generally more than six months and up to approximately 16 months. Those involved with the process should know that, for the time being, this has become the norm. Typically, we would provide suggestions for pushing toward improvement or challenging this issue, and there may come a time when this will be appropriate. Given that there is a change in the administration, however, including DOL leadership, it is our hope that the DOL will be able to strike the right balance between proper case scrutiny and prompt decision once again."