The National Center for the Middle Market, a partnership between GE Capital and The Ohio State University, said the middle market grew 8.4% in the past year, according its Middle Market Indicator survey.

The survey, conducted in March, found more than 70% of companies reported increased gross revenue in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter of 2011. Fewer than two in ten, or 16%, of companies said that revenue had deteriorated.

Despite these strong results, middle-market businesses expect revenue growth will slow to 7% over the next 12 months. Although middle-market companies are cautiously optimistic, they are still outpacing projections from large S&P businesses, which expect gains of just 4.7% over the same period.

“Given that middle-market companies have been an engine of growth and a significant source of jobs during the recent economic recovery, we expect these growth and hiring projections will have a pronounced impact on U.S. hiring overall,” said Dr. Anil Makhija, academic director of the National Center for the Middle Market. “This research is imperative to identifying the drivers and barriers of middle market growth, so we can continue to support their contributions to the economy.”

The NCMM’s first piece of research, conducted in October 2011 and the largest study of the U.S. middle market ever, revealed that while big businesses shed 3.7 million jobs during the recession, the middle market added 2.2 million jobs. This trend has continued, as the Middle Market Indicator found that middle-market companies are adding more jobs to the U.S. economy. Findings show 2.3% net job growth among middle-market companies, versus 1.7% net job growth for S&P 500 companies and 1.9% for small businesses. Over the past year, middle-market firms have added more than 940,000 jobs versus just 630,000 jobs added by the S&P 500.

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