EXHIBIT 99.1


Date:                      May 29, 2008
Contact:                   Gary S. Olson, President & CEO
Corporate Office:          200 Palmer Street
                           Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania 18360
Telephone:                 (570) 421-0531


                               ESSA BANCORP, INC.
                      ANNOUNCES A STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM
                        FOR 15% OF ITS OUTSTANDING SHARES

Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania,  May 29, 2008 -- ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company"),
the holding  company for ESSA Bank & Trust,  today  announced  that its Board of
Directors  has  authorized  the  repurchase  of up to 15%  of its  publicly-held
outstanding  shares  of common  stock,  commencing  May 27,  2008.  The  Company
completed  its  initial  public  offering  on  April  3,  2007,  and  applicable
regulatory  restrictions prohibited the repurchase of shares during the one-year
period  following the  completion of its initial  public  offering.  The Company
currently has 16,980,900 shares of common stock outstanding.

"We are pleased to announce the first stock repurchase  program in the Company's
history and we are committed to capital management  strategies that will enhance
stockholder value," said Gary S. Olson, ESSA Bancorp's President and CEO.

The Company will repurchase the shares from time to time for cash in open market
transactions  or  in  privately  negotiated   transactions  in  accordance  with
applicable federal securities laws.

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust, which has total
assets  of over  $915  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.

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" which may be
identified  by  the  use  of  such  words  as  "believe,"   "expect,"  "intend,"
"anticipate,"  "should,"  "planned,"  "estimated" and  "potential."  Examples of
forward-looking  statements  include,  but are not  limited to,  estimates  with
respect to our financial condition,  results of operations and business that are
subject to various factors which could cause actual results to differ materially
from  these  estimates  and most other  statements  that are not  historical  in
nature.  These  factors  include,  but are not  limited  to,  general  and local
economic  conditions,  changes in  interest  rates,  deposit  flows,  demand for
mortgage  and other  loans,  real estate  values,  and  competition;  changes in
accounting  principles,  policies  or  guidelines;  changes  in  legislation  or
regulation;  and other  economic,  competitive,  governmental,  regulatory,  and
technological factors affecting our operations, pricing, products and services.

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