"Los Angeles cannot be a truly great city when millions of residents are unable to provide a decent life for their families," said Madeline Janis, executive director of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, which sponsored the study along with the Partnership for Working Families. "We must face this challenge head on and find innovative ways to create shared prosperity."

The report found that median household income in the county edged up slightly last year and family poverty rates decreased slightly from the previous year.

But the report also found:

-- close to one-third of full-time workers in the county earn less than $25,000 a year;

-- more than 20 percent of children live below the federal poverty level, which is $20,000 a year for a family of four;

-- one out of five Latinos and one out of five blacks live below the federal poverty level, compared to almost one out of 10 whites;

-- the typical county worker's hourly wage is 9 percent less than the typical California worker and 4 percent less than the typical U.S. worker.

The report calls upon businesses to support policies that expand opportunities for their workers and policy-makers to pursue strategies to help raise wages.