Date:                August 27, 2008
Contact:             Gary S. Olson, President & CEO
Corporate Office:    200 Palmer Street
                     Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania 18360
Telephone:           (570) 421-0531


                     ESSA BANCORP, INC. ANNOUNCES DIVIDEND,
                             PAYMENT TO STOCKHOLDERS



Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, August 27, 2008 -- ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company")
(NASDAQ:  "ESSA"),  today  announced the payment of a quarterly cash dividend of
$0.04 per share of the Company's  common stock.  The dividend will be payable to
stockholders  of record as of September 16, 2008,  and will be paid on September
30, 2008.

"We are extremely  pleased to be able to offer our  investors a dividend,"  said
ESSA President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Gary S. Olson.

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust, which has total
assets  of over  $925  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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