US consumer spending fell in September after four months of gains as a government programme to boost auto purchases ended, adding to fears that economic growth could stumble without government support.

The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending fell 0.5 per cent, the largest decline since December, after a 1.4 per cent increase in August. The decline was in line with market expectations.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed employment costs in the United States rose 0.4 per cent in the third quarter, matching the previous period’s increase and indicating marginal gains in income.

US stock index futures trimmed losses after the economic data, while US government debt prices rose.

“It sets up a very weak fourth quarter for consumption. It might be around flat to up 1 per cent annualised in the fourth quarter,” said Ian Morris, chief economist at HSBC Securities in New York.

“But if inventories add and you get some rise in business investment, you could get a much more decent fourth-quarter (GDP gain) of around 3 per cent,” he said.

Government data on Thursday showed the economy grew at a 3.5 per cent annual rate in the third quarter, probably ending a recession that began in December 2007.