By JACK KATZANEK, The Press-Enterprise

The atmosphere of hope that surrounds job hunters across the country is extending to college seniors as well.

The Class of 2011 is facing many more favorable employment conditions than those who graduated in the previous three years, when students walked across the stage to get their diplomas and stepped into the worst economy since their great-grandparents' days.

As the economy starts to pick up some energy, workers who have not found new job opportunities for two years or longer might now be seeing light at the end of a long tunnel.

But what would be encouraging to employees could cause a different kind of headache for their bosses. If a fresh crop of job prospects does come along, it could signal a round of departures by critical workers.

With resumes flooding into employers, job applicants are getting creative. One sent a photo of her cat above her resume. Another listed God as a reference -- no phone number or email address listed.

A lot of the resumes from these job hunters either go straight to the inactive file or the waste-paper basket -- but not before giving the human resources department a few laughs first.

As the job market gets tighter, there's often a temptation to put on a resume that you "went to Stanford" when, actually, you once went to a Stanford football game.

When the effects of the recession finally end and employers begin to add people, many workers may find themselves working on a temporary basis.

And, some believe that this temporary status, for many people, will become permanent.

Some observers see employers looking more often for job-specific workers than full-timers when they begin to hire again.

An overwhelming majority of a panel of economists from across the country say the severe recession that started almost two years ago has come to an end.

Four out of five members of a panel from the National Association for Business Economics this week said the economy has been growing since July and that the last two quarters of 2009 will indicate growth.

It was only a few years ago that many trucking companies had long lists of job openings but not enough drivers who wanted to get behind the wheel.

It's been a long, hard year for automobile dealers because consumers, worried about their job security, are hesitant about taking on the five-year commitment that comes with a car loan.

Ron Wold laughed when asked how life as an interstate truck driver is going these days. Then he pulled out his wallet, which had an empty compartment where money usually goes."That's how it's going," Wold said.