diff --git a/lisp/org-clock.el b/lisp/org-clock.el
index c7ebbf8..c0fe4e6 100644
--- a/lisp/org-clock.el
+++ b/lisp/org-clock.el
@@ -1803,7 +1803,8 @@ This function is made for clock tables."
   "Persist various clock-related data to disk.
 The details of what will be saved are regulated by the variable
 `org-clock-persist'."
-  (when org-clock-persist
+  (when (and org-clock-persist
+             (or org-clock-loaded (not (file-exists-p org-clock-persist-file))))
     (let (b)
       (with-current-buffer (find-file (expand-file-name org-clock-persist-file))
 	(progn