Consumers held spending in check in September and diverted some of their higher earnings into savings, the government said yesterday, adding to signs of slow but steady economic growth ahead.</br></br>The report reflected the sluggish consumer spending for the third quarter as a whole that contributed to slower economic growth in the period, as reported Wednesday.</br></br>Analysts said that while consumer spending was likely to pick up in the current quarter -- leading to a reasonably strong Christmas sales season -- the economy overall would probably remain in low gear.</br></br>Consumer spending on goods and services rose a scant 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $5.18 trillion in September, after a 0.5 percent advance in August, the Commerce Department said.</br></br>Incomes from wages, salaries and other sources grew 0.6 percent, to a $6.54 trillion rate, after a 0.5 percent August increase.