My guess is I'm not counted at all. As far as the government is concerned, I would only count if I handed my children over to day care or Headstart and went back to earning the government more taxes.
If the GOP would man up and FORCE the marriage penalty off the books, that would totally amaze me.
You do have a point, though. You're a non-entity, as far as the statists are concerned.
You're correct. You're not considered unemployed unless you're actively seeking employment. Sometimes the unemployment rate drops when people give up looking for a job and decide to move back home with parents or go to school or whatever. If the stock market keeps retreating though and john q public gets his september 401K statement around October, it won't be pretty for Bush in November.