BERLIN, Jan 8 - German unemployment fell by a greater than expected 21,000 in seasonally-adjusted terms in December, a source who has seen data to be released later on Thursday told . The mid-range forecast of 15 analysts polled by was for the adjusted jobless total to fall by 10,000 from the 4.363 million reported in November. Forecasts ranged from a drop of 20,000 to a rise of 5,000 . In unadjusted terms, unemployment rose by 132,000 to 4.317 million from 4.185 million in November, giving a jobless rate of 10.4 percent compared with 10.0 percent a month earlier, the source said. The headline jobless total typically rises during winter months as temporary jobs disappear in areas such as agriculture and construction, although German companies are also continuing to cut permanent positions as they seek to trim costs. The source said also that in 2003 as a whole, unemployment averaged 4.376 million, just shy of the post-war high of 4.384 million set in 1997, and up some 316,000 from 2002.//