The number of people starting their own business last year dropped for the first time in three years amid toughened economic and business environment, data showed Thursday.

According to the data by the National Tax Service, people who launched their own business last year totaled 956,406, down 3.8 percent from 994,386 tallied a year earlier.

This marked the first time in three years that the number of newly launched businesses has declined on a year-on-year basis.

In the retail sector, the number of people starting a business declined from 203,179 to 193,882 over the same cited period. In the eatery sector, the figure also fell from 189,099 to 175,685, the data showed.

The real estate rental sector, however, saw a 5.2 percent rise in newly launched businesses last year, according to the data. (Yonhap News)