diff --git a/OpenSim/Region/Application/OpenSimBase.cs b/OpenSim/Region/Application/OpenSimBase.cs
index 6a7291c6c9..0f61faf21e 100644
--- a/OpenSim/Region/Application/OpenSimBase.cs
+++ b/OpenSim/Region/Application/OpenSimBase.cs
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ namespace OpenSim
             // Called from base.StartUp()
 
             IConfig startupConfig = Config.Configs["Startup"];
-            if (startupConfig != null && startupConfig.GetBoolean("JobEngineEnabled", true))
+            if (startupConfig == null || startupConfig.GetBoolean("JobEngineEnabled", true))
                 Watchdog.JobEngine.Start();
 
             m_httpServerPort = m_networkServersInfo.HttpListenerPort;