“Most of the employed are either wage and salary workers (paid employees) or self-employed (working in their own business, profession, or farm).”

More info here.

Your question opens a new perspective on the numbers.

What is the underlying intention of collecting and showing these numbers from official side?

Same thing in Germany, where about a week before the forthcoming election unemployment figures are quite low. Yet everybody is feeling that the system is crippling and the long lasting employment programs will end soon after the election and companies will close down as soon as the money infusion is lowering.

There is not much effort (from the official state institutions) in exploring new forms of work, such as entrepreneurship in a broader sense (see CoWorking as a facilitating foundation or movement) and the former employeed workforce is not yet open-minded to explore new territories of work (with certainly less stable situations).

I wonder whether there is a similar feeling in the U.S.?

Best regards from beautiful Dresden (have you visited that innovative & creative city in Eastern Germany yet – you should:-))

Ralf