Japan's key composite economic index jumped 1.0 point in February on month, marking the first increase in two months, the government said Friday.

The umbrella coincident indicators including readings of industrial output and retail sales hit 93.7 in the recording month, according to the report released by the Cabinet Office.

Improvement in ratio of job offers to seekers and expansion in the shipment of durable goods including cars were part of the reasons for the rise, said the report.

Japanese government provided subsidies for the purchase of environment-friendly cars, which helped boost the deals of new vehicles.

Though Friday's reading failed to match the level recorded in the same month a year earlier, the government said the index of coincident indicators showed signs of improving.

The index forecasting economic developments in the coming few months, or leading indicators, climbed 2.1 points to 96.6, while the index assessing economic performance in the past, or lagging indicators, grew 2.2 points to 85.6.