In a panel at the GE What Works Summit on American Competitiveness, policy and business leaders recognized that the 200,000 middle-market companies in the U.S. have untapped potential to create jobs and grow the economy.

The panel was based on a study about the U.S. middle market, which was conducted by the Ohio State Fisher College of Business and GE Capital. Middle-market companies are defined as those with revenues between $10 million and $1 billion that provide approximately 41 million jobs. They also account for 34 percent of total private employment and create more than $9 trillion in combined annual revenues, which makes them critical to America's competitiveness and future.

"Middle-market companies represent critical opportunities for job creation and economic growth," says Tom Quindlen, president and CEO of GE Capital, corporate finance. "As policymakers consider new initiatives to put Americans back to work and to keep our nation on the cutting edge of manufacturing innovation, they must not forget the enduring challenges and significance of middle market companies."