Contrary to frequent claims, the majority of low-wage workers in the U.S. (66 percent) work for large corporations with more than 100 employees, rather than for small businesses, and these large businesses should be paying more, says a recently released study by The National Employment Law Project. “As stagnant wages and weak consumer demand hold the economy back, the researchers argue that the strong financial position of large, low-wage employers signals that it is time to improve wages for the lowest-paid workers and raise the federal minimum wage,” NELP contends.

NELP says most of the nation’s largest low-wage employers – led by Wal-Mart, McDonald’s and Yum! Brands – have fully recovered from the recession and are now enjoying strong profits. The report also shows that low-wage jobs are disproportionately concentrated in a small number of industries – industries that are growing faster than the rest of the economy. In 2011, half the country’s low-wage workers (52.1 percent) were employed in just five sectors: Food Services, Accommodation, Retail, Administrative Services, and Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation.

NELP says if the federal minimum wage kept pace with the cost of living, it would be approximately $10.55 per hour; the organization notes Democrats in the Congress would raise the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 to $9.80 by 2014, adjust it each year to keep up with the rising cost of living (as ten states already do), and raise the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers.