EXHIBIT 99.1

Date:       May 9, 2008


Contact:    Nancy Cross
            Director, Marketing Division
Office:     200 Palmer Street
            Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania 18360
Telephone:  (570) 422-0188


                               ESSA BANCORP, INC.
                      ANNOUNCES 2008 ANNUAL MEETING RESULTS

Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania,  May 9, 2008 -- ESSA Bancorp,  Inc. (the  "Company")
(NASDAQ:  ESSA) held its 2008 Annual Meeting of  Stockholders  on May 8, 2008 at
11:00 a.m. local time, at Stroudsmoor Country Inn, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

At the Annual Meeting,  Daniel J. Henning,  Frederick E. Kutteroff and Elizabeth
B. Weekes were elected to the Board of  Directors,  each for a three-year  term.
All have been  directors  of the  Company  since its  inception.  The  Company's
stockholders also approved the ESSA Bancorp, Inc. 2007 Equity Incentive Plan and
ratified the appointment of S.R.  Snodgrass,  A.C. as the Company's  independent
registered public accounting firm for the year ending September 30, 2008.

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust, which has total
assets  of over  $850  million  and is the  leading  service-oriented  financial
institution  headquartered in the greater Pocono,  Pennsylvania region. The Bank
maintains its corporate  headquarters in downtown Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania and
has 13 community offices  throughout the Pocono,  Pennsylvania area. In addition
to being one of the region's largest mortgage lenders,  ESSA Bank & Trust offers
a full range of retail and commercial financial services.

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