BEIJING - The number of newly registered enterprises in China continued to rise in the first half of 2015, official data showed Wednesday, indicating growing enthusiasm for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The number of new firms jumped 19.4 percent from a year ago to 2.1 million in the first six months, according to data released by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC).

"This growth shows that a creative, entrepreneurial spirit has been stoked by business reform," said Yu Fachang, a SAIC spokesperson.

By the end of June, there were around 74.20 million business in China, up 7 percent from the end of 2014, data showed.

The number of new firms registered in the service sector accounted for 80.3 percent of the total, or 1.607 million during the first six months, the SAIC data showed. This is a 22.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Yu said this reflected improvement in China's economic structure, with the service sector playing a bigger role in growth and job creation.

Amid an economic slowdown, China has been improving business registration processes since last year, removing the minimum capital requirements, replacing annual company inspections with a reporting system and loosening site requirements for businesses.

Easier market access and an improving environment for businesses also boosted employment at privately-owned enterprises.

A total of 264 million people were working in the private sector as at the end of June, an increase of 14.54 million from the end of 2014.