Small and midsize companies plan to increase their work forces by an average of 6 percent in the next year as confidence strengthens in an economic rebound, Bloomberg reported.

Survey results released today by General Electric Co.’s finance unit, GE Capital, reflect data from chief financial officers at 530 companies with annual sales of $50 million to $1 billion. GE Capital is one of the largest lenders to small and midsize U.S. companies since the financial crisis.

About 80 percent of respondents said they plan to hire more workers, and almost two-thirds have already started.

“Eighty percent planning on hiring was a pretty bold statement,” said Dan Henson, who oversees GE Capital in the Americas, in an interview with Bloomberg. “This was the most definitive we’ve seen in the three times we’ve done this survey.”

The planned hiring increases come as 72 percent of CFOs surveyed expect year-over-year sales growth in 2011. Industries included in the report were metals and mining; food, beverage and agriculture; general manufacturing; health care; retail; technology and business services; and transportation.