Signs of economic improvement abound, and hiring new people in PR jobs has now become more a question of when rather than if.

Prognosticators see good news and bad news for the PR job market in the coming year. The good news is 2004 will be better than 2003. The bad news is that's not saying much. Corporate budgets seem to be rising, and firms are reporting busy fourth quarters. Hiring should follow, recruiters say. "Cautiously optimistic" is still, predictably, the most ...