The study, conducted by the National Autistic Society (NAS), said the figure has remained the same for the last decade, showing that autistic people are not benefiting from Government employment programmes.
The Society is calling on the Government to tackle the “autism employment gap” by introducing specialist support to help autistic people find and stay in work.
It will also launch a national programme to raise employers’ awareness of the skills and potential of autistic people.
Its survey of more than 2,000 autistic adults found that fewer than fifth (16 per cent) are in full-time work, while just a third (32 per cent) are in some kind of paid work.
By contrast, 47 per cent of disabled people and 80 per cent of non-disabled people are employed full-time.
And worryingly, while over three quarters (77 per cent) of autistic people say they want to work, just four in 10 say they’ve had the opportunity to work.
Commenting on the report, Mark Lever, Chief Executive of NAS, said: “Autistic people have a huge contribution to make to our economy and society, including in the workplace. But they’ve been repeatedly failed by government and overlooked by employers.
“Various governments have introduced schemes aimed at improving the disability employment rate. But it’s not working for autistic people – just 16 per cent are in full-time work and this hasn’t improved in almost a decade.
“Many employers tell us they’re keen to recruit more autistic people but they don’t know where to go for support and they’re worried about getting it wrong. It’s clear that we need leadership from the Government to tackle the autism employment gap once and for all.”