SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Great news, dividend investors: You’re in for a fatter payday this year — and probably in 2012 as well.

America’s 500 largest publicly traded companies, bolstered by record profits and flush with cash, are increasing their dividends at the fastest pace in seven years.

This should comfort faithful dividend investors who got burned in 2009 when the global economy went into a state of shock, forcing General Electric GE, +1.79% , Citigroup C, +1.62% and other corporate titans to slash their dividends.

On the flip side, it shows that big companies are still reluctant to hire anyone despite the money piling up on their balance sheets following major the cost cuts they embarked upon to cope with the recession. The U.S. economy didn’t add any jobs in August, leaving the unemployment rate stuck at 9.1%. Read full story: Hiring grinds to halt in August.

In 2011, through Aug. 31, fully 243 — nearly half of the companies in the S&P 500 — have either increased or initiated a dividend payment, up from 175 during the first eight months of 2010 and a paltry 102 during the same eight months of 2009, S&P data shows.

Higher dividend are appearing across the board. Dow 30 component Verizon Communications VZ, +0.42% said Thursday that it would raise its dividend for a fifth straight year, pushing its annual payout up 2.6% to $2 a share.

Iron-ore miner Cliff Natural Resources CLF, -2.28% is doubling its yearly dividend to $1.12 a share, while diesel-engine maker Cummins CMI, -0.81% is boosting its dividend by 52% for an annual payment of $1.60 a share.

And then there’s CF Industries CF, +2.84% . The fertilizer supplier quadrupled its annual dividend to $1.60 a share.

Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s, estimated that investors will pocket $241 billion in dividend payments from S&P 500 companies this year, up from $205 billion in 2010 and $196 billion in 2009. He has calculated that 2012 dividend payments will be even fatter.

“Dividends are having a very good year,” Silverblatt said in a phone interview. “The good news is we’re on road to recovery. The bad news [for dividend investors] is you’re not back to 2008.”

Silverblatt said investor dividend paychecks are up 13.1% since December 2010. That’s still 8% less than 2008, when dividend checks totaled $248 billion.

Walgreen has raised its dividend every year for a decade, as have such fellow household names as Pepsi, Coke and Colgate. Reuters

“Dividend investors are still short,” said Silverblatt, who surmised the difference will be made up by mid-2012, unless the economy slips into a double-dip recession.

So far this year, 226 companies have upped their dividends. Only four have cut theirs. That’s in stark contrast to 2008 and 2009, when 140 companies either cut or suspended their dividends, withdrawing $59 billion in payments investors had been counting on, according to S&P data.

By S&P sector this year, consumer staples, health care and industrials are leading the pack in terms of dividend payouts.