Companies are in position to increase payrolls next year as revenue picks up, according to an annual survey of chief financial officers released today by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Forty-seven percent of CFOs said they plan to hire new workers in 2011, compared with the 28 percent who forecast that they would add jobs this year.

The percentage of CFOs projecting revenue growth for their companies also was up, from 61 percent projected for 2010 to 64 percent for 2011. The percentage expecting layoffs dropped from 9 percent to 6 percent.

“Despite the challenging economic climate, many CFOs have growing confidence that their companies have weathered the worst of the storm and are poised for expansion,” said Laura Whitley, Bank of America Corp.’s global commercial products executive, in a news release. “Although concerns about the economy remain, the increase in CFOs who expect to hire employees could be crucial to improving the nation’s unemployment rate.”

The survey was taken by 801 executives, who gave the overall economy a score of 47 out of 100, up slightly from last year’s score of 44.