This does not mean that we should revise up expected future returns – perhaps the opposite. 13  NORGES BANK  Chart 12 Low long-term interest rates Ten-year US Treasury yield. Percent 16  16  14  14  12  12  10  10  8  8  6  6  4  4  2  2  0 1960  ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES 18 FEBRUARY 2021  0 1970  1980  1990  2000  2010  2020  Source: Bloomberg  The expected annual real return is estimated at 3 percent. The estimate was most recently updated in connection with the decision to increase the allocation to equities. Two key variables were used in the calculation. One was the expected return on the fixed income portfolio, and the other the size of the equity risk premium, which is the extra compensation we expect when taking risk in the equity market. The bulk of the fixed income portfolio is invested in long-dated sovereign bonds. When interest rates fall, bond prices rise. The return on the fixed income portfolio therefore held steady through the period of falling interest rates. But this is a one-off gain (Chart 12). Interest rates have now fallen to historic lows, and the expected return on the fixed income portfolio going forward has fallen. Equity prices have risen sharply in recent years. Taking risk in the equity market has paid handsomely. But we cannot assume that the gains will be as high in the future.
The composite output Purchasing Managers’ Index – which has a high correlation with growth in the euro area – remains above its long-term average and is close to six-year highs. Overall, survey data continue to point to growth in the quarters ahead. Moreover, Eurostat’s Economic Sentiment Indicator is near a ten-year high. The ongoing recovery has led to solid employment gains. The number of people employed in the euro area has increased by almost 7 million since hitting a trough in mid-2013. This means that all of the employment losses recorded during the crisis have been offset. Additionally, the unemployment rate is now at its lowest level in eight years and continues to decline, notwithstanding an increase in labour force participation. Employment growth, together with the gradual increase in employee compensation, supports households’ disposable income and is underpinning solid consumption dynamics. Robust consumer spending is driven by buoyant sentiment, favourable bank lending conditions and the notable progress achieved with respect to deleveraging. The investment outlook is also positive, supported not only by a need to modernise the capital stock after years of subdued investment and an improving outlook for profitability, but also by easy financing conditions as our policy measures have passed through financial markets to affect the borrowing conditions of businesses and their customers. Since the announcement of our policy measures in June 2014, bank lending rates for euro area non-financial corporations have fallen by around 120 basis points and those for households by around 100 basis points.