ESSA Bancorp
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Date:                 March 6, 2009
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,  March 6, 2009 -- ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company")
(NASDAQ Global MarketSM  "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 March 16,  2009,  and will be paid on
March 30, 2009.

"ESSA's  conservative,  community-minded  approach  to banking has allowed us to
continue to produce  solid  results,"  said Gary S. Olson,  President  and Chief
Executive  Officer of the  Company.  "We are very pleased to be in a position to
offer our investors a dividend."

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust, which has total
assets  of over  $980  million  and is the  leading  service-oriented  financial
institution head-quartered 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.  ESSA Bancorp,  Inc.
stock trades on the NASDAQ Global MarketSM under the symbol "ESSA."

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   Corporate Center: 200 Palmer Street, PO Box L, Stroudsburg, PA 18360-0160
                     Phone: 570-421-0531, Fax: 570-421-7158



Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking  statements" within the
meaning of Section  27A of the  Securities  Act of 1933 and  Section  21E of the
Securities  Exchange  Act  of  1934.  Such  forward-looking  statements  may  be
identified  by  reference  to a  future  period  or  periods,  or by the  use of
forward-looking  terminology,   such  as  "may,"  "will,"  "believe,"  "expect,"
"estimate,"  "anticipate,"  "continue,"  or similar terms or variations on those
terms, or the negative of those terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to
numerous risks and uncertainties,  including,  but not limited to, those related
to the  economic  environment,  particularly  in the  market  areas in which the
Company operates, competitive products and pricing, fiscal and monetary policies
of the U.S. Government,  changes in government  regulations  affecting financial
institutions,  including  regulatory fees and capital  requirements,  changes in
prevailing  interest  rates,   acquisitions  and  the  integration  of  acquired
businesses,  credit risk management,  asset-liability  management, the financial
and securities markets and the availability of and costs associated with sources
of liquidity.

The Company  wishes to caution  readers not to place undue  reliance on any such
forward-looking  statements,  which speak only as of the date made.  The Company
wishes  to advise  readers  that the  factors  listed  above  could  affect  the
Company's financial performance and could cause the Company's actual results for
future periods to differ  materially  from any opinions or statements  expressed
with respect to future periods in any current  statements.  The Company does not
undertake  and  specifically  declines any  obligation  to publicly  release the
result of any revisions,  which may be made to any forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances  after the date of such statements or to reflect
the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

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