* Analysts expect the jobless figure to keep on rising
* Govt's economic programme must be strengthened -president
(Adds Croat President comment, background)
ZAGREB, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The number of unemployed people in Croatia reached the highest level since mid-2005, the state statistics bureau said on Tuesday, while analysts believe it will continue rising in the first half of 2011.
According to the fresh statistics bureau data, the jobless figure at the end of December amounted to 319,845 people, or 7,500 persons more than a month before. It is the highest number since April of 2005 when there were 320,283 jobless people.
The number of jobless rose by some 100,000 in the last two and a half years as the global crisis and slow structural reforms hit the economy of the European Union candidate. Croatia, a country of some 4.4 million people, hopes to wrap up the EU accession talks this year.
"The jobless rate is our serious economic and social problem. The government's economic programme has not yielded expected results so far and should be strengthened, but also faster and more decisively implemented," Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said.
Last April the government adopted a recovery programme, but many analysts said it had been implemented too slowly. This year is an election year which may further dent the pace of reforms, they said.
Weaknesses in the economy include a large public sector and spending, a high tax burden, a poor business climate, inflexible labour market and a low labour participation rate.
The state statistics bureau is due to release the official December unemployment rate later this month. In November it amounted to 18.3 percent and it is expected to rise to 18.8 percent.
"I think that the number of unemployed may reach its peak around March and amount to some 330,000 people," Zdeslav Santic of Splitska Banka, the local unit of Societe Generale, said, adding that in comparison with EU members, Croatia's economy has one of the lowest participation rates.
"Some people who lose their job will face difficulties finding a new one and will opt for an early retirement which then puts pressure on already fragile public finances. Such a low participation rate (of some 55 percent) does not offer prospects for solid growth in the coming years," Santic said.
Croatia's economy declined 5.8 percent in 2009 and is seen shrinking another 1.5 percent in 2010. The official forecast for this year is a moderate recovery of around 1.5 percent. (Reporting by Igor Ilic, edited by Ron Askew)