EXHIBIT 99.2


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 DIVIDEND, PAYMENT TO STOCKHOLDERS

Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania,  May 29, 2008 -- ESSA Bancorp,  Inc. (the "Company")
(NASDAQ:  ESSA),  today announced that the Company has declared 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 June 16, 2008, and will be paid on June
30, 2008.

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

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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