Greek jobless rate hit a new record high at 21 percent in December 2011, the Greek Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) said on Thursday.

Youth are the most affected, with one in two persons aged 15-24 years, or 51.1 percent unemployed in the recession-hit country, according to the official data.

The overall unemployment rate in November 2011 stood at 20.9 percent, while in December 2010 at 14.8 percent.

According to the ELSTAT survey, the number of employed persons in debt-laden Greece amounts to 3.9 million people, while the number of unemployed reaches up to 1.03 million persons.

Despite measures promoted by the government to boost development and employment, such as the lowering of labor costs in the private sector, local analysts do not expect an improvement of the figures in the next few months, since Greek economy continues to contract in 2012.

According to International Monetary Fund estimates, recession will stand at 4.3 percent this year and the annual unemployment rate by 2013 will stand at 19 percent on average up from 17 percent last year.

Greece is kept afloat with multi-billion euro aid packages from European Union and the International Monetary Fund since 2010 in exchange of austerity policies that have fuelled recession and jobless rates.