PROSPECTS LOOKING BETTER FOR WORKERS IN STATE : FAMILIES FEELING BENEFITS OF REVIVING ECONOMY.

Byline: Dennis Love Daily News Staff Writer

It's not exactly the 1980s again, when the Reagan defense scramble had factories rocking across Southern California, fat-catism was at its apex, and it seemed as if everyone was flush and reckless and lit their cigars with $100 bills.

The '80s were never that good. But the decade still is remembered fondly as an era of good feeling before the knee-capping recession which ushered in the decidedly more stark 1990s.

So when a breeze of optimism (anybody remember optimism?) begins to move anew across the land, however faint, people notice - and begin to thread it into their own frame of reference.

``It comes up more now,'' said Deirdre Fuller, a 36-year-old office manager who works for a Van Nuys auto body shop. ``I hear people talking about job openings, about businesses expanding. It seems like you hear it on the news. . . . It's like things are getting better.''

Fuller was one of 2,310 Californians questioned for a public opinion survey about work and health by the San Francisco-based Field Institute. The poll found a refreshingly upbeat attitude about employment prospects.

Like 16 percent of the respondents, Fuller said it is ``very likely'' that she will be promoted and have a large increase in pay during the coming year. Her employer plans to expand his shop, and Fuller said her duties are expected to increase as well.

In all, nearly 40 percent of respondents said they were either ``very likely'' or ``somewhat likely'' to be promoted and get a salary boost by this time next year.

Additionally, more Californians feel ``better off'' (42 percent) than ``worse off'' (29 percent) financially compared to last year. Also, 42 percent of the public expect to be better off next year, while just 8 percent foresee worsening personal financial circumstances.

``There are plenty of concrete reasons why Californians should be feeling more positively about the economy,'' said Stanford University economist Robert Ball, among them diminishing unemployment (7.1 percent at last count), relatively stable interest rates and a business outlook which continues to forecast even better times ahead.

``But I think human nature may have a role here as well,'' he said. ``In some respects, the Field figures seem to reflect a level of optimism that may not be entirely justified. But people usually want to be optimistic, they want to feel as if things are going to improve, just around the corner.''

But then again, Ball said, ``the word on the street is worth its weight in gold. People know their own circumstances and prospects better than anyone else.''