Amid a slowdown in job growth across sectors, IT services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys hired about 42,000 more techies in the recently concluded fiscal 2018-19 than it did in the previous fiscal, registering a growth of over 350 per cent in new hiring, a media report said.

While Mumbai-headquartered TCS hired 29,287 employees in the financial year ending on March 31, Bengaluru-based Infosys added 24,016 software professionals, Fortune reported this week.

So together these two companies added 53,303 employees in the 2018-19 financial year, while they hired just about 11,500 employees in the 2017-2018 financial year.

TCS hired 7,775 employees, while Infosys added 3,743 employees in FY18, the Fortune report said, suggesting that the momentum of hiring in the $167-billion Indian software services industry has started picking up.

In 2019, IT firms are likely to hire professionals with expertise in data science, data analysis, solution architects, product management, digital marketing, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and cyber security, according to experts.

The Indian IT industry is expected to add around 2.5 lakh new jobs this year, according to a TeamLease Services report.

"Investments in IT re-skilling will increase by around 20% in 2019," said the report on "IT hiring projections for 2019".

Meanwhile, Infosys, while announcing results of the last quarter of FY19 recommended a final dividend of 210 per cent or Rs 10.50 per share of Rs 5 face value.

In a regulatory filing on the BSE, the IT behemoth said with an interim dividend of 140 per cent Rs 7 per share, the total dividend for the fiscal 2018-19 is 350 per cent or Rs 17.50 per share.

The company also bought back shares worth Rs 1,546 crore out of total buyback size of Rs 8,260 crore since March 20 after receiving regulatory approvals.