The number of people starting their own business has fallen by more than one-third since last year, according to new figures.

The number of start-ups for the second quarter of 2008 was 5465, compared with 8365 in the same quarter last year - a 35% drop.

The statistics, published by the Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers (CSCB), are based on new businesses in Scotland that have opened bank accounts with any of the four Scottish clearing banks.

Statistics relating to all sectors, including agriculture, hunting and forestry and wholesale and retail trade repairs, showed decreases across the board.

Colin Borland from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Scotland said potential entrepreneurs are being put off by the doom and gloom of the current financial climate.

"Scotland's business start-up rate has historically lagged behind the rest of the UK and these figures do nothing to buck this trend," he said.

"Perhaps, given the daily diet of bad news, it's little wonder that people are less likely to take the plunge.

"But, even before the current market turbulence, increased overheads - in the shape of fuel, energy and transport costs - may have made starting your own business a less attractive option.

"That said, it is important to remember that, even in these difficult trading conditions, there are still opportunities out there for those with entrepreneurial flair."

The latest figures are based on data provided by the Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Lloyds TSB Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Mr Borland said the figures highlighted the fact that more needed to be done to encourage the growth of small businesses.

"Although there has been some progress made with the first stage of the Small Business Bonus being implemented earlier this year, there is still work to be done," he said.

"Government at all levels needs to continue to work to put in place the practical measures which will create an environment where businesses can establish and flourish."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said the figures revealed that Scotland was not immune from the prevailing global economic downturn.

"While the figures fail to take into account the extent of businesses switching bank accounts or operating with personal bank accounts, the figures do show a decrease in new business accounts," she said.

"Over the longer term, there has been an upward trend of new business accounts and more robust VAT registration data, due to be released this autumn, will give us a clearer understanding of the situation."

However, she said that despite these figures, there remained numerous reasons to be optimistic.

"The Scottish economy shows signs of resilience with a strong labour market, unemployment close to a series low and the employment rate significantly higher than the UK," she said.

"Retail sales continue to grow at a faster rate than the UK, we have robust export figures and GDP growth that has exceeded or matched the UK in each of the last three quarters.

"This government will not sit back and wait for things to get better. We have taken practical steps such as reducing business rates and more recently by accelerating investment in affordable housing."

The spokeswoman added: "We could do even more with more powers at our disposal, but at the moment we are determined to help Scotland's economy emerge from the current economic downturn even stronger than it was before."