Our current system, or at least that which exists in Australia,
is not conducive to aspies finding / gaining employment.
Those who decide to hire prioritise interpersonal skills, presentation, and
written communication over technical skills, or simply ability to complete the task.
The interview and application process are also not structured in a way that is helpful
to many of us on the spectrum. I work in a highly technical field, and even then I find
'simple' job/graduate program applications about as easy as final exams (which were not easy).
That 80% un/under employed really doesn't surprise me - most of our economic system
favours the managerial classes, (which in most cases is not a strength in AS) and promotion
is based more on relationship and social hierarchy than ability.
There was a case I heard of from a colleague where a large company he had previously worked for wanted to replace an engineers who had left. HR conducted the interviews and gave engineering a short-list. All of the candidates were not qualified for the job. Someone in Engineering later went through the applications and found that many qualified applicants had been knocked back. When HR was asked about this, they said that these people 'did not suit the image of the company' or some such.