UPDATE: U.S. unemployment fell to 3.6 percent, lowest since 1969

[progree]

61. The unemployment rate, LFPR, etc. is based on everyone 16 and over, even centenarians

It doesn't cut off at 65. Everyone between 16 and 160 is treated the same in these statistics.

Likewise the 96 million Not In Labor Force is everyone 16 and over (including centenarians) who isn't working a job and has not looked for work in the last 4 weeks, or tells the survey taker that they don't want a job now .

If a 16 year old is working, she/he is counted as Employed. If not working but says wants a job, says is able to take a job if offered, and has looked for work in the past 4 weeks, she is counted as unemployed.

Same for someone who is 35 or 160.

People that these Household Survey statistics count also must be civilian and non-institutionalized. If they are military or institutionalized (e.g. nursing home, prison), they are on a different planet as far as the BLS is concerned.

There are BLS series for different age groups (unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, employed, unemployed, labor force, population, and many more), including age 16-65, and age 65+. Also 25-34, 16-54, and many others.

I've known one self-employed person that was not paying SS tax (no, I'm not that person).

There's a gray economy where people work "off the books" and don't pay SS taxes and neither do their employers.

But counting the number of people paying SS taxes would be a good indicator to know -- probably that statistic is available somewhere, ...

Social Security does keep statistics on average and median wages, for example, http://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/central.html

So if I googled hard enough, I might find something on the number paying SS taxes.