Autism and Employment Statistics

This blog will discuss the percentage of people with autism who are employed or unemployed, and what such statistics may suggest. This will also compare the employment/unemployment rates of people with physical disabilities, and non-disabled people, with those on the autistic spectrum.

The pie chart below shows figures on the employment statistics for people with autism; all the figures used on this blog were taken from the website, Autism Work Barrier (2013).

According to these figures, only 15% of people with autism are in full-time employment, while a further 9% have part-time jobs. The rest are presumed to be unemployed. The following two charts show employment figures for people with physical disabilities, and non-disabled people.

As you can see, the employment rates for people with disabilities are higher than those with autism – with 31% in full-time employment. Subsequently, employment rates for those with no disability are higher still – 57% of which were employed full-time, and more people were employed part-time than unemployed. What is even more alarming is another statistic that is caused by unemployment – in Wales, at least, as many 12% of adults with autism have been homeless at some point (Autism Work Barrier, 2013).

So what lies behind these statistics? In particular, why so few autistic people are employed, and what would help to increase those numbers? Autism is not a physical disability, nor does it affect intelligence; and as previous blogs have demonstrated, such people can have plenty of traits that would be valuable to the workplace. In order to answer this question, there are two factors to take into consideration – obtaining the job, and keeping the job.

With gaining employment, the success rate all comes down to the interview process. This is where the first problem comes in – the one area where most autistic people have trouble is communication. Therefore, a candidate with autism may have difficulty communicating their talents to the employer. Simone (2010, p.6) states that:

‘People with Asperger’s seem to fall into one of two camps regarding interviews and first impressions. They either interview very poorly, and have difficulty getting jobs they qualify for because of it, or else they interview really well and have little difficulty obtaining jobs. That is because the interview is a short performance; it is keeping the job that will be difficult.’

For those work candidates who interview poorly, what can they do about this? According to an online article on job-hunting for autistic people (The Guardian, 2013), the key is to be extremely well prepared for the interview, far more so than a person would normally be. This could include researching the employer in advance, and doing plenty of role-playing in preparation for interviews.

But for those that do obtain jobs, what is the obstacle to maintaining them? One answer to that is choosing the right job. When people with autism don’t understand their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as personal limitations, they may end up in job they aren’t suited for. My advice here is to follow advice on the best jobs for autistic people – there are plenty of resources for this – and choose those that are best suited to your needs.

Another obstacle is coping in a social environment; my own experiences demonstrate problems and solutions for this. The general public has little idea of what autism is – such as how it presents, or what it looks like (Simone, 2010). In light of this truth, there were odd occasions when it was hard to be around people because they didn’t understand my abnormalities; they in turn found it hard to get on with me. This would create an obstacle to managing socially in the workplace. In other instances, however, the outcome was very different. Whenever someone understood about autism, and accepted that I wasn’t the same as everyone else, I always got on just fine with them. Not only that, but such people would even praise having me in their life!

So what is the message in this? If you are an autistic jobseeker, always educate yourself, employers and work colleagues about autism, and how it affects you specifically – autism affects different people in different ways. This can be valuable both for the interview and for the job itself. Practicing for the interview beforehand, choosing the best job, and educating employers about autism, are two key solutions – combined, they could greatly increase the number of autistic people who find, and keep, fulfilling jobs.

References

·       Autism Work Barrier, 2013. Autism, homelessness and unemployment. [online] Available at: http://autismworkbarrier.org.uk/articles/autism-homelessness-and-unemployment#footnote3 [Accessed 27 April 2015].

·       Simone, R., 2010. Asperger’s on the Job. Arlington: Future Horizons.

·       The Guardian, 2013. How can jobseekers with autism communicate their skills? [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/how-can-jobseekers-with-autism-communicate-skills [Accessed 27 April 2015].