It has become clear to many economists that the US economy is running a high risk of falling into a recession. Unemployment rates are slightly higher and may continue to rise for a while, but make no mistake—they will come down again, probably sooner than we all think. And when they do come down the labor shortage will be much worse than it is now, but it will open the door for many diversity candidates.

As we ride out this period of economic temerity, many baby boomers will continue to leave by the workforce by the thousands. Recent estimates have the current rate of baby boomer departure from the labor force at about 8,000 per day.

Diversity recruiters will have their work cut out for them, as they will have to find diversity candidates to fill the growing number of vacancies that this shortage will bring. And though filling the gaps left by this coming labor will take a coordinated and hard fought approach, it offers recruiters and organizations alike the opportunity to take a long and hard look at the diversity populations that have long been underrepresented in the workforce, particularly the disabled and seniors.

While the disabled are the most underrepresented group in pretty much all areas of the current workforce, women, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, LGBT continue to lag behind mainstream representation in today’s workforce. All of these diversity candidates are part of a talented labor pool that is ready, willing, and able to perform as the labor shortage reaches the height of its severity.

Why companies have not adequately tapped this capable diverse candidate pool is not a mystery at all. Most companies have trouble with their diversity recruiting efforts because they will typically continue to hire the way they have always hired, evaluating but passing up qualified diversity candidates. But even those companies that are moderately successful in their diversity recruiting efforts find diversity recruiting challenging because many top tier diversity candidates move from company to company very quickly as they are continually being lured away from their jobs to new jobs with higher salaries.

A labor shortage should make it easier for recruiters to find diversity candidates, especially among older workers. Not all baby boomers are going to retire, and some will return to work after retiring. Older workers, sometimes forgotten as a diversity group, will do much to help alleviate the coming labor shortage.

Older workers bring expertise and experience to the workplace, and many companies and recruiters will find success in filling gaps in the labor shortage from this important diversity population.

Even though only 25 percent of disabled candidates get employers to hire them, I am confident that the coming labor shortage will dramatically change that as well. Many companies that currently hire disabled workers have found that disabled workers are very productive, but too many companies do not give disabled candidates the chance to prove themselves.

This is because many employers fear the unknown. Employers fear that they won’t know how to work with a disabled person, that their employees won’t know how to interact with a disabled person, they fear that their insurance rates will go up— but most of all, employers fear that they will not be able to afford “reasonable accommodations” for disabled employees.

The labor shortage should be the impetus to helping employers get over their fears, as they will need qualified and talented disabled employees to help alleviate their labor woes. And as for the cost of reasonably accommodating a disabled employee? They should easily get over that too, as the current average cost of accommodating a disabled worker hovers around a mere $500.

The coming shortage of 10 to 15 million US workers as a result of baby boomers retiring should provide sufficient incentive for employers to hire older workers and people with disabilities as well as other diversity candidates. The coming labor shortage will change the way recruiters and companies evaluate and hire candidates and open the door to diversity candidates that have long been overlooked.