Are you a cog or a case?

Almost 30 million people are classed as being 'employed' in the UK but what does that actually mean? Does it just mean they're getting a regular income that prevents them claiming the government's 'unemployment benefit', or does it mean something else? Is the casual labourer and freelance jobber 'employed'? Is the self-employed tradesman employed? Business owners are said not to be 'employed' because their 'employees' work for them, not the other way around. So, if you've got a business in which you employ ten people but you still turn up every day at the office; are you employed? If you're a freelance journalist, photographer or what ever but you haven't sold a piece of work for a month or two, are you employed? Somehow 19th century industrial age descriptions don't seem to fit any more. Those that consider themselves 'self-employed' don't necessarily want to become 'employed' either.