The number of entrepreneurs starting new businesses dropped 10% in the wealthiest nations last year and fell 24% in the U.S., according to a report released Wednesday.

“Throughout the world, would-be entrepreneurs reported greater difficulty in obtaining financial backing for their start-up activities, especially from informal investors– families, friends, and strangers,” says Bill Bygrave of Babson College, one of the founders of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, which issued the report.

But sentiment was improving. A quarter of new entrepreneurs in 2009 felt the prospects for their businesses are rosier than a year earlier, according to the report. New entrepreneurs tended to be more optimistic than established business owners.

“Of course, the finding that entrepreneurial activity declined in many countries was not a surprise,” says Niels Bosma, GEM’s director of research and a researcher at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. “What surprised me was that as much as one in four new entrepreneurs in wealthy countries believed that the global slowdown had created more opportunities for their business, not less. This is a significant and interesting group. They are more likely to be young, well-educated and expect to create a lot of jobs for others.”

Confidence alone isn’t sufficient to create new jobs in an economic downturn, and the drop in new businesses highlights the difficulties faced by the job market. About half of the U.S. work force is employed by small firms.

“What is needed is for entrepreneurs to feel comfortable venturing out again, because they are the real engine for creating new jobs. Unfortunately, there is not a silver bullet for entrepreneurs. Each country needs to develop the right formula to encourage business start-ups,” said Kristie Seawright, Executive Director of GEM.