Among regional technology centers, the rich are getting richer.

So says Jed Kolko, chief economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, who wrote this week that many of the nation's tech jobs are concentrated in just eight metro areas.

"These big eight hubs are tightening their grip: Higher-salary technology occupations are becoming increasingly concentrated, while lower-salary technology jobs are dispersing slightly to the rest of the country," Kolko wrote in a study of regional tech economies. "In this sense, the U.S. technology jobs landscape is becoming more unequal -- yet another example of how the country is becoming increasingly differentiated and polarized."

The winners include big markets such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C., Seattle and Boston. Portland is not among them, and could be in danger of falling further back.

After growing strongly in the years following the Great Recession, job growth in Oregon tech has stalled. Venture capital investment was down sharply in 2016, and tech investment fell further - and faster - in the first half of this year.

Meanwhile, established employers are cutting back. Within the last month, SureID acknowledged nearly 300 job cuts at its Hillsboro headquarters and Microsoft said it would lay off 124 and close a computer factory in Wilsonville.

Though the aggregate numbers and recent news are not encouraging, there are hopeful signs. Kolko's analysis found that posting for Portland jobs are very similar to those in the Bay Area.

"These metros should be considered cousins of Silicon Valley," Kolko wrote, "not because of the amount of tech-job postings they have, but rather because of the kind."

And that suggests the Portland area has the kind of worker the tech industry wants - even if it lacks the quantity larger tech hubs enjoy.

"I feel like it's an interesting experiment in regional economic development that we're playing out here," said Eric Rosenfeld, founder of the Oregon Angel Fund, an early backer of many of the state's most successful tech companies. "We seem to be doing pretty well, but for different reasons than other places in the country."

The nation's other large tech centers all benefit from a major research university in their metro areas, Rosenfeld notes. That's something Portland has never had, and he said it's always been a drag on Oregon innovation.

And yet Oregon continues to draw skilled tech workers from those larger tech hubs, who flee outrageous housing prices in the Bay Area and Seattle in favor of a less expensive, mellower lifestyle in Portland.

While Portland also lacks experienced tech leaders and wealthy moguls who can bankroll new ventures, Rosenfeld said the city is proving to be an attractive alternative for skilled workers. He said that is creating a tech economy that's very different from, say, Seattle's, but has a certain selective appeal nonetheless.

"Do we really want large, monolithic companies here? Is that something that would be good for Portland?" Rosenfeld asked. "I'd rather see a lot of nimble, creative startups."

Recent Oregon tech data doesn't look great, said Josh Lehner, a state economist for Oregon, who wrote his own analysis of the regional tech economy Wednesday. Tech's share of total Oregon employment has been waning for several years.

"(O)ur tech jobs are not growing significantly faster than in the rest of the nation," Lehner wrote. "Furthermore, a good portion of the software growth represents outposts or satellite offices rather than homegrown headquarters."

However, Lehner said continued migration into the state has created a reservoir of talent that could create a durable and economically diversified tech industry built to endure.

"We've seen a higher share of people moving in with science, technical and medical degrees," Lehner said in an interview. "That pattern would lead yourself to believe we have reached critical mass and have a very bright outlook in that respect."

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699