General Electric Co. plans to hire 5,000 U.S. military veterans over the next five years and to invest $580 million to expand its aviation footprint in the United States this year, Reuters reported.

The company announced its plans as it opened a four-day meeting today to focus on boosting the U.S. economy.

“We should have the confidence to act and to restore American competitiveness,” CEO Jeff Immelt, a top adviser on jobs and the economy to President Barack Obama, said in a statement.

The U.S. unemployment rate — seen as the main barrier to a more vibrant recovery — fell to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent in January, helped in part by the addition of 50,000 manufacturing workers.

GE is the world’s largest maker of jet engines. It plans to open three new U.S. aviation plants in Alabama, Mississippi and Ohio.

After cutting headcount significantly during the recession, GE has added about 9,000 U.S. workers since 2009, and has announced plans to hire another 4,500 people.

GE, whose operations range from making loans to mid-sized businesses to manufacturing railroad locomotives, will be joined at the Washington meeting by chief executives from Boeing Co. and Dow Chemical Co.