Not many people expect that President Donald Trump will raise the minimum wage. In fact, during the primaries, he famously declared that American wages were already “too high.” However, he later declared that he believes the issue should be left to the states, implying that he would not make any federal changes to the minimum wage as president.

However, Rob Wilson, president of Employco USA and employment trends expert, believes otherwise, saying, “The minimum wage has not changed on a national level since July 2009. Meanwhile, the cost of living has continued to increase, so we are certainly due for a change. While his opponent Hillary Clinton was vocal about seeking $15 per hour for the federal minimum wage, President Trump will certainly not go anywhere near that high.”

Instead, Wilson believes that Trump will likely move the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50, in a slow progress towards a goal of $10 an hour.

“I do believe that President Trump will raise wages during his presidency, but it is far from the top of his to-do list,” said Wilson. “Hence, I would expect it to be a number of years before minimum wage employees will see their paychecks make any notable increase.”

Employers should begin making preparations now for a higher minimum wage, Wilson noted. “Although the change will be incremental,” he added, “previous minimum wage experiments in cities such as Seattle have shown the devastating impact that minimum wage hikes can have for both employers and employees.”