Revealed: The UK's top 10 benefits hotspots

New numbers on joblessness reveal the dramatic divide between neighbouring towns and cities

Where are jobs being lost and where should help be focused on? (Getty)

Joblessness in some parts of the UK is nearly 30 times worse than in other areas just a few miles away, according to new analysis by the Independent.

Official figures reveal more than 5,600 people claim unemployment benefit in Birmingham's Ladywood. Just 18 miles away, in Kenilworth and Southam, only 205 residents are on the dole.

The stark divide between different parts of the country across England and Wales is captured in the interactive map below.

Use the directional buttons to the left to explore the country.

And wider analysis, using figures from Office for National Statistics data service Nomis for January 2016, reveals the areas of the UK with the highest numbers of benefits claimants.

Four are in Birmingham, the UK's second largest city, with three in Northern Ireland and one in London.

Rural parts of the country, however, dominate the list of areas in which the fewest number of people claim benefits.

The data is best explored using the interactive map above, but the pictures below show how benefit hotspots (in dark red) are concentrated across the major cities of England and Wales.

London and Birmingham are the key problem cities, with Cardiff less affected. Coastal areas in the south east of England are also in need of more help

Many of the areas around Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds are struggling with unemployment

These graphs and charts highlight the areas in need of the most support.

The 'claimant count', or number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance, which is what these maps show, is not quite the same as unemployment.

Unemployment is typically about twice as high, indicating large numbers of unemployed people do not claim benefits, as this above graphic via the BBC shows.