Use of the Oxford comma

The oxford comma is the second comma in the sentence I like the colors red, white, and blue. Every grammar textbook I've ever seen, as well as the major style guides, feels that this is "proper" despite the fact that most American periodicals exclude it. In fact, most Americans, even professionally educated ones, are not aware of this and consider it wrong. I do resume work on the side and have had interviewees complain that they were specifically chided for using an oxford comma—and other interviewees for not using one! I now recommend staying away from lists because of this.

My question is: How pervasive is the use of the oxford comma in English-speaking, non-American countries? Especially in Canada and Great Britain, is there an expectation in formal writing one way or the other?

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Use of the Oxford comma

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